The Grand Finale
by Inalicante
Summary: One year after the Rebellion, the 76th and final Hunger Games are being held. The tributes are to be reaped from everyone that ever had anything to do with the Games. What does that mean for Effie? And how does Haymitch feel about it? Post-Mockingjay. Hayffie. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. I decided to do a Hayffie fic! Characters belong to Suzanne Collins! Please read and review. Thank you, enjoy!**

"Haymitch, is it such a big deal for you to wash the dishes?" Effie sighed. She was obviously annoyed. The huge pile of dirty plates and mugs on Haymitch' kitchen counter seemed to get bigger every day. "It's your turn this week!" She didn't get a response. "Haymitch?"

A lot had changed. After the rebellion, Effie had slowly started hating the Capitol through and through. How could she? It was her birthplace, after all. But what they had done to her was unforgivable. She had decided to stay at first. But it was not as easy as she had thought. Images of her prison cell had come to her at night. Peacekeepers, shadows in her memory. The screaming and begging of fellow prisoners. Pain. Every night, she would wake up, screaming and soaking in sweat. Tears running down her pale face.

That's when she had decided to go in on Haymitch's offer to come live with him in 12. It was a big step. But she knew it would be good for her. She had doubted for a moment if she should wear her usual attire or not. That's how they knew her. Bright and bubbly. But the fear of being rejected by the people of District 12 was overwhelming. She had no home anymore. The Capitol wasn't her home anymore. 12 was her only chance at starting a new life.

She had decided to put on the simplest of outfits she had. A knee-length navy blue summer dress and a light blonde wig. The wig was made of human hair, pretty expensive, no one could tell she was wearing one. Her mother had always told her that her real hair wasn't pretty enough. Not for the Capitol. Her imprisonment didn't take away Effie's desire of wearing pretty things and having manners. That felt nice. Still having a part of herself. But the reason she wore a wig had changed. In prison, they had cut her hair unevenly. It was absolutely repelling, she thought.

She had packed a few simple dresses –they were pretty hard to find– and had headed straight for the train. The journey had been long. She was extremely nervous. But the moment she had walked on the gravel that adorned the path to the Victor's Village, she knew she had made the right decision. Haymitch had welcomed her with open arms, which surprised her. Sadly, the thought that he had really changed, quickly evaporated into thin air the moment she was greeted by the unmistakable stench of alcohol and saw liquor bottles scattered all over the floor.

Effie had gotten the spare room at the end of the corridor. She had lived in Haymitch's house for almost a full year now. His company was nice, they had helped each other through the healing process. But he could be annoying at times, she thought. Even after all this time, he still didn't have the slightest of manners. That was mostly the reason they bickered a lot. Maybe some things never change.

"Haymitch!" Nothing. She walked towards the living room. As expected, Haymitch lay sprawled out on the couch. Drunk as a skunk. Asleep. Effie sighed. When she wasn't around, he could really mess things up. She looked around in search for his knife. She found it in his hand, carefully took it away from him, leaned over, and shouted in his ear. "Haymitch!" His eyes flew open, he jumped up from the couch, screaming and yelling, and frantically flung his arms around to protect himself from the creature that had shouted his name. He slowly calmed down and took in the figure that stood in front of him. "Trinket, are you crazy?" he yelled. "I don't want you to drink yourself into oblivion when I'm not around to stop you." Effie stated calmly. "Why do you care anyway?" Haymitch sat down on the couch again.

Effie sat down next to him and stared at her shoes. "You know I care about you. You're my friend." Haymitch snorted and shook his head. "Yes, but you know I can't help it. I never ask you to take off your ridiculous wig, do I?" "That's different." Effie sighed and pulled her legs upon the couch. Haymitch wanted to protest, but stopped himself. "I'm sorry." he mumbled. She didn't respond. "Hey, I didn't really mean it like that." He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. A friendly gesture. He did that a lot. It always made her relax after she had woken up from yet another nightmare. "No, no, no."Effie said, smiling a little. "That's fine, really."

They sat like that for a while until the television suddenly flickered on. The seal of Panem appeared on the screen. "What in the world is going on?" Effie murmured to herself. Next President Paylor appeared, sitting behind a mahogany desk. "People of Panem," she spoke, "after decades of being suppressed by the Capitol, the Districts were freed by the rebels exactly one year ago. To show the Capitolians that the Districts can not and will never again be overruled, the 76th and final Hunger Games will be held in a few weeks."

"Oh shit…" Haymitch cursed. Effie's eyes grew to the size of platters. "What..?" "The tributes of these finale Games," Paylor continued, "are to be reaped from all the gamemakers, peacekeepers, escorts, stylists and everyone that ever had _anything_ to do with the Games. The reaping will be held in the City Circle in three days. This will be the only announcement, thank you." Then the screen went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I sure do enjoy writing it! Please read and review! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Eden (played by James Marsden). **

"Haymitch, what does she mean?" Effie asked desperately. Haymitch sighed. "You have a big shot at going in there, princess." he said, while taking a swig from a bottle of liquor. Effie knew he wasn't really listening to her. She stood up from the couch. "You don't even seem to care." Her voice sounded raw. Hurt. She walked away, tears threatening to spill, before he could say anything. Out the door, away from the Victor's Village, to the meadow. Tears started to spill from her eyes as she sat down in the soft grass, her blue dress spread out around her. She looked at the colourful primroses Katniss had always talked about. She didn't want to believe it. The rebels had wanted to stop the Games, hadn't they? What was the point now? She could go in, her friends could go in, her _family_ could go in.

"Effie!" She heard the voices of her victors. Effie quickly wiped her tears away, careful not to smudge her make up and sat up straight. Katniss and Peeta sat down on either side of her. "Are you alright? Peeta asked concerned. Effie smiled her fake smile, she was sure they noticed it. "I'm fine, children." she said. "I just came out here to think."

"Don't worry." Katniss' voice replaced Peeta's. "There are tons of names in there. The chance they pick you is very small." "I know." Effie sighed. "But my friends and family…" she fought hard against the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks again. "Come on." Peeta said softly, and he stood up. "I think you could use a good night's sleep. The reaping's in three days. We should take the train to the Capitol tomorrow morning. We don't want to get behind schedule now, do we?" Effie nodded in agreement, grinned and took his outstretched hand.

Her dreams were different that night. No peacekeepers and no prison. The horrific images of her cell were replaced by flashes of people dying in the Games. Not just people. Her friends. Even the ones that were already dead. Cinna, and Portia for example. But there were more of them. 21 other people she didn't know. Effie heard cannon sounds as she saw them fall to the ground, struck by knives. She looked at her hands. Her jaw dropped as she saw her hands, covered in blood, one of them holding a knife. _She did this_. _She had killed them_. "No!" she screamed. Her eyes darted around the room. It was over. It wasn't real. She closed her eyes for a moment and placed a hand over her racing heart until it beat in it's usual pace. She lay down again. It was 3:44 am, she concluded when she looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was going to be a long day.

The next morning they took the first train to the Capitol. The journey would take almost a full day. Effie had called her brother, and had asked him if they could stay in his apartment the nights before the reaping. Her brother, Eden, was an ex-gamemaker. Dark brown hair, a beaming smile, and as punctual as his sister. Over all a perfect gentlemen, loved by everyone.

Effie was eerily quiet the whole way to the Capitol. She stayed in her room all day and only came out to eat. Haymitch knew she didn't want to go to that place. He knew she was scared. So was he. She came out of her bedroom in the evening when she had heard people cheering, roaring. She had put on a red, sophisticated dress, a light pink wig and makeup. She didn't really want to, but then again she had to. She didn't want her family to see her without her usual attire. It would scare them, even though her hair had grown back. Effie wasn't Effie without the look, was she?

She joined Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch at the windows of the train. She was met by their soft smiles, and people outside waving at her, shouting her name. She was a celebrity here, she knew. But in some way, it felt sick. She would get reaped and sent to her death if the odds weren't in her favour. But when the train door opened, she decided to just roll with it. What were the odds, anyway?


	3. Chapter 3

**An early update! Next chapter will be uploaded on Sunday. Enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Eden (played by James Marsden). Please read and review! :)**

Effie's smile was wide and genuine when her big brother opened the door of his apartment in the Capitol. "Eden!" she squealed. Eden gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Effie, dear! It has been way too long. Are these two your victors?" he said, referring to Katniss and Peeta. "And oh, the mentor. A pleasure to meet you Mr. Abernathy." He politely introduced himself to them and let them in. He was very handsome. Clad in a tailored suit, his brown hair gently slicked back.

He quickly gave the visitors a tour around the big apartment. "I have two spare rooms right here." Eden showed them. "Every room has two beds, so Katniss and Effie, Haymitch and Peeta?" Haymitch, Peeta and Effie nodded in agreement. Katniss on the other hand, seemed to disagree by the look on her face and Effie knew why. Peeta was there for Katniss when she needed him, as Haymitch was there for her. Effie threw her manners out of the window for a moment and whispered "It will be alright." in Katniss' ear, Katniss smiled slightly and nodded.

That night Effie didn't wake up because of Katniss' screams. Neither did Katniss wake up from Effie's screams. They both woke up because of someone else's. Effie immediately knew it was Haymitch. Katniss seemed confused as Effie leapt out of bed and quickly threw on a dressing gown over her short nightdress. "I will be right back," Effie whispered, "don't worry."

She opened the door to the boys' room to find Peeta desperately trying to calm Haymitch down without waking him. Effie quickly sat down on the edge of Haymitch's bed and woke him, careful not to scare him. Haymitch opened his eyes. They softened as they landed on Effie and his breathing slowed down again. Peeta was rather confused. "Who are you?" he whispered. Effie looked him in the eyes. "Don't worry about that." She tried to stay calm and hide the blush that crept on her cheeks as she realized she wasn't wearing a wig nor makeup. "Go back to bed, darling."

Peeta seemed to recognize her by her voice. "Alright." He turned around and laid down on his bed. "You look pretty without makeup, Effie." Peeta yawned. "Thank you." She grinned. But Peeta had already fallen asleep. She turned to Haymitch again, who was sleeping too. A soft smile on his face. She stood up. "Good night." she whispered, and went back to her own room.

It was morning. The sun shone brightly. It was hot. A beautiful day to prepare for death, Effie thought. She was wearing her favourite monarch butterly dress. The one she wore at the reaping for the Third Quarter Quell. It meant a lot to her. Her brother was again clad in a tailored suit with an orange tie to match Effie's dress. On either side of the City Circle sat the victors of each district. Staring at them. Judging them. Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch were there too. They smiled at her reassuringly as she walked by, her hand in Eden's. Her brother gave her hand a squeeze and let go to be seperated from her. Men on the left, women on the right. Effie looked around. She saw her friends, family members and acquaintances. Her mother stood behind her. Her father stood next to Eden. There were small children too.

"Welcome." A deep voice filled the hot air they were standing in. It was Gale Hawthorne, Effie realized. Gale hated the Capitol, Gale hated _her_. "Welcome to the reaping of the 76th and final Hunger Games. A small change: volunteering is forbidden." His eyes seemed to be fixated on her. Pure hatred filled them. But then again, he could be looking at anyone. Effie knew Gale was a good man and she had long accepted the fact that he would never forgive her for what she had done.

"First, the men." Gale walked over to one of the reaping balls. Flavius' name was called. Effie cursed under her breath. Gale went over to the reaping ball with the female names. Octavia. He went for the other reaping ball again as Flavius and Octavia made their way to the makeshift stage. Effie looked over at Katniss. She looked scared, and full of… regret? Effie looked at Gale again. This was already a sick game. You never knew what was going to happen next. Whose name was going to get picked. "Eden Trinket." Gale called out. No. No way. No. "No!" Effie yelled and frantically looked for her brother. A rebel stopped her, his gloved hand made her shiver. Eden gave his sister a reassuring nod. "It's going to be okay." his eyes said. He walked up to the stage as well. Effie stayed quiet for the rest of the reaping. Names of loved ones and names of people she didn't know flashed by. But she didn't seem to hear anything. She did hear her mother, quietly sobbing behind her. Her father was eerily quiet.. Effie stood like that for a while, looking at her feet, not listening to anything until Gale's voice called out: "The final tribute: Euphemia Trinket."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 already! This is going really fast. I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I do. Thanks for all the reviews! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Magnus and Eden. Please read and review!**

Effie's eyes shot up. Silence. Hundreds of pairs of eyes looked at her. She couldn't move. She realized she had held her breath when a rebel grabbed her arm and forced her to walk towards the stage. She let out a soft whimper, and that's when all hell broke loose. It began with her father who started yelling bloody murder as he finally snapped. More people followed. "Calm down, people!" she heard Gale say. But that made the Capitolians even more angry. A few rebels managed to pull Effie's father from the crowd. "Effie!" She snapped out of her thoughts as Eden grabbed her hand and lead her to the trucks that would bring them to the Training Center along with the other tributes. They were roughly pushed in by one of the drivers. She quickly managed to take a look at the crowd.

She saw that the victors were being escorted. The rebels made sure they were safe. Suddenly Effie heard a loud bang and saw her father fall to the ground before the doors of the truck closed. "Daddy!" Effie yelled. She stood up and tried to push the doors open. "Let me out!" she begged. "Daddy!" Eden pulled her back and put his arms around her as the truck started moving and she started crying. "Shhh, Effie." she heard him say. "You've got to focus on other things now." Effie lifted her head. "Father just got shot! Why are you so damn calm?!" She covered her mouth with her hand. Language, Euphemia.

"This may sound harsh, but Eden's right." Octavia chimed in. "We should probably focus on the Games right now. Your lives are at stake too." Effie sighed. "I _really _don't want to think about that right now."

When they had entered the Training Center to get ready for the Parade, she was met by a tall, handsome, black man. He really looked like Cinna, she thought. "Hello Euphemia, Eden." he greeted. "I'm really sorry that this happened. My name is Magnus. I will be the stylist for the both of you." Effie looked in his eyes. "A pleasure to meet you." Eden nodded. "Effie?" "Did you know Cinna?" Effie asked bluntly. Magnus smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "He was my brother." he said. Effie smiled, "He was a great man." Magnus took her hand and kissed it. "I have a look for you two that will surely blow everyone's minds. Follow me."

Peeta pushed the heavy hardwooden doors of the prep room open. "Is she ready?" he asked Magnus, who was putting away some sewing supplies. Magnus grinned, "See for yourself, young man." and opened the curtain to reveal a stunning, young-looking woman with long, gold blonde hair standing on a low platform. "Wow." Effie was clad in a long white dress with gold details. On her head she sported a gold crown, similar to the Victor's Crown. She smiled when she saw Peeta. "What do you think?" She started twirling. It looked like golden rain was flowing from her dress. "You... you look amazing."

They both heard Haymitch voice from down the hall. "Where's Trinket?" Peeta waved at him and pointed at Effie. Haymitch walked over to him. "Eff, I came to tell you that- oh my.." He smiled sheepishly. "Is that your real hair?" "Yes it is." Effie smiled and turned around. Her hair fell past her shoulders, down her back in wavy curls. It looked full and healthy. "Don't get why you hide it. Looks good." Haymitch shrugged. "Chariots depart in two minutes." A voice called. "Where's Eden?" Effie asked while Haymitch helped her off the platform. Eden ran over to them. "Here I am. We got chariot number 12. I took care of that." He looked good in his white suit, adorned with gold details. He sported a crown on his head as well. Haymitch let go of Effie's hand as Eden took it and they walked towards the chariots. "Looking gorgeous as ever, dear." He said.

As they stepped on their chariot, Magnus gave Effie a button. "Same idea as last year. Push it when you're ready. And… make sure they remember you." Effie nodded. "Got it." She heard the first tones of Panem's anthem. Eden grabbed Effie's hand. "Here we go."

As the sun shone in her eyes, she heard people cheering. "There they are! Brother and sister. Escort and gamemaker, Effie and Eden Trinket! They look absolutely amazing!" Caesar's voice boomed through the speakers. As soon as the crowd became to quiet for Effie's liking and Caesar and Claudius started talking about the other tributes, she pushed the button. In front of their feet, a cage opened and dozens of white doves came flying out. _White doves_. Their family symbol.

"Oh my..!" Claudius called out. "They sure know how to surprise us every year!" Effie and Eden raised their intertwined hands and the crowd cheered for them. A dove landed on Effie's shoulder. Effie smiled and looked over at Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta. They looked satisfied. Peeta put his thumbs up. At least this started out well, she thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here it is, chapter 5! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for Magnus, Lucius, Eden and Felix. Enjoy, please read and review! And again, thanks for all the reviews! I adore you guys!**

"Good job out there, princess." Haymitch said as Effie and Eden stepped off the chariot. Effie giggled. "Well, Magnus did all the work." Peeta smiled. "He did a great job with the clothes, but your smile was all the audience needed to like you." Effie blushed. "Oh Peeta, how kind of you." "You sure taught him manners, didn't you, Effie?" Eden grinned. Effie nodded. "I sure did. But Peeta is a kind young man at heart." Peeta smiled. Haymitch smirked and turned around. "Enough with the chatter. I think it's time to go to the Penthouse. Katniss is there already. I will talk with you about the other tributes." They all followed him as he started walking towards the elevators. "I'm sure you haven't had the time to meet them all."

"Flavius, Octavia.. I'm sure you knew that. They won't last long." Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta, Effie and Eden sat in the living room of the Penthouse. Effie and Eden immediately had changed out of their clothes to get into simple nightwear. Effie had her hair up in a bun and she was wearing a long dressing gown. Haymitch was looking over the list of tributes. "Felix, a young boy. Son of one of the Gamemakers. Just turned 12. Won't stand a change either." Effie gasped. Katniss put a hand on her lower arm. Haymitch ignored them and kept on reading.

"Tax, the trainer. You do need to watch out for him. He's good with a bow, if you see one at the Cornucopia, grab it. He can't have one. Vitus, Camilla, yada yada ya… And last but not least Lucius Crane. Seneca's cousin. Ex-gamemaker and trainer. He's good. You two need to think about an alliance with this guy." "Lucius?" Effie looked startled. "Yes. Is there a problem?" Haymitch asked, slightly annoyed. Effie understood, it had been a long day. She shook her head. "No, no. He was just a really good friend of mine in Games School. I haven't seen him in a while." Haymitch shrugged. "Then I think an alliance will work out. Now I think it's a good idea for you two to go to bed. Tomorrow's the first day of training. Katniss, Peeta and I will help you with that. Good night." He got up and left. But he didn't go to his bedroom. He went for the kitchen. As the others left for their rooms, Effie followed him.

"Haymitch?" Effie whispered as she opened the door to the kitchen just a little bit. Haymitch sat on one of the bar stools, holding a bottle of liquor. He didn't respond, so Effie pushed the door open a little further. "I told you you should go to bed. Training's tomorrow." he growled. "I don't care." Effie shot back. "I'm used to sleeping late and waking early. And you're not supposed to drink right now. Tomorrow you'll be feeling too sick to help us!" She sat down on the stool next to his. "Do you think it's that easy for me, princess? It kills me inside to know that I've caused this." Effie's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? You didn't do this. Paylor decided."

Haymitch shook his head. "I voted in favour of these Games. We wanted revenge. But I never wanted you to-" he was cut off by a sharp pain in his jaw. She had slapped him. He looked at her with wide eyes. She pointed at him with a perfectly manicured nail. "You could have known. I don't want to see you ever again!" Before he could say anything she was gone. He cursed under his breath, propped his elbows up on the kitchen counter and let his face fall in his hands. "What have I done…"

Effie closed the door behind her and slid to the ground. Her back against the door. She stared into the darkness for a moment. She knew Haymitch didn't really like her. But he didn't hate her either. Why had he done that? He didn't want to kill her off, right? No, of course he didn't. He had thought about his family, his girl. That's why he had voted. Not because of her. She felt selfish, but then again, so should he. I need to get back and apologize, she thought and made a move to get up. No Effie, she stopped herself. Hold your ground. You have all the right to be mad at him. She stood up and walked towards her bed once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She lay down and stared at the ceiling. She would deal with him tomorrow.

"In two weeks, 23 of you will be dead." Plutarch stood in front of the 24 tributes. They were clad in a black shirt and training shorts with two white stripes down the sides. "Don't underestimate the stations that will train your survival skills, not knowing how to find water or start a fire is one of the main causes of death in the arena. You will all be allowed to train with your mentors, good luck." As he walked away the tributes descended to the training stations.

Effie looked around to find Eden practicing his camouflage skills with Peeta. A young boy sat next to him on the ground, painting his hand. That must be Felix, Effie thought. He reminded her of Peeta, but younger. Katniss walked towards Effie. "I think we should start with knife-throwing." she stated. "I can't." Effie said. Katniss looked her in the eyes. "You don't think you can make it, do you?" "I'm already dead. And no, I don't think I can make it. People like Lucius, Tax and my brother. They _do_ stand a chance." Katniss shook her head. "You're precise. You're small, you can hide. I believe you're fast too. Even in heels you're like the train, traveling at 250 miles per hour." She grabbed Effie's arm and brought her to the training station.

Katniss pushed a few buttons and pointed at the knives. Effie grabbed one. It felt cold in her hand. It made her shudder. Focus, Effie. As one of the moving hologram targets appeared, she threw the knife. Miss. Another one, miss. It didn't even come close. "Effie, concentrate!" Katniss paused the training. Effie turned around. "Whatever you're thinking about, let it go." Katniss told her. Effie nodded slightly and looked over Katniss' shoulder. Haymitch was staring at her. Her anger grew. Katniss started the training again. As a hologram appeared, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and threw the knife without thinking. Anger was racing through her veins. She opened her eyes to see the hologram fall apart. She had hit the target.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6! I really hope you like it because I've worked hours on this one! This chapter contains Hayffie ;) Please read and review, enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanna Collins except for Lucius.**

Katniss was never the girl to squeal with joy. But after Effie had hit all the remaining targets, she did. She looked delighted. "See?" she said. "You have potential!" Effie was silent for a moment, surprised at her own actions and then burst out laughing. "I surely didn't expect that to happen!" She looked at Haymitch for a split second and tried to regain a professional look on her face. He looked genuinely satisfied because of her. No, Effie thought. This was wrong. It wasn't her who had hit the targets. It was her anger towards Haymitch. She couldn't do this. She had to apologize. But not yet.

Haymitch turned around to face Eden, who was trying his hand at setting traps. Peeta walked over to Effie from the camouflage station. "I'm sure you can use this." he said. "You're good with makeup. A little painting shouldn't be a problem." Peeta showed her the cart with supplies and handed her a paintbrush. "Make yourself invisible, use this tree to your advantage." Effie nodded. It felt strange, taking orders from one of her former tributes. She took the paintbrush from Peeta's hand and started working.

After an hour Peeta came back. "Time." Effie looked at her arm and then at Peeta. "What do you think?" Peeta studied it for a moment and pointed at the tree that was positioned in the middle of the station. Effie placed her arm against it. "Perfect! But it took you a while. You should work on your speed with this." Effie nodded obediently. "Yes, sir." Peeta grinned as he took the used paintbrush from Effie. "You have an hour of training left, you should go over there." He nodded his head in Haymitch's direction.

Effie took a deep breath and walked up to Haymitch. He sat crouched down with his back to her. "Hi." she said. Haymitch abruptly turned around to look her in the eyes and stood up. " Effie, I-" she raised her hand in front of his face. "Don't. We'll talk about that later." Haymitch pursed his lips together. "Hmmm, okay." He crouched down again and Effie joined him. She grabbed a branch. Haymitch wanted to explain how to start a fire. She shushed him. She knew exactly how to start a fire. Within moments the thin stick started to create smoke and then, fire. Haymitch looked at her bewildered. "How did you know how to do that?" Effie looked up. Wow, his Seam grey eyes sure were dreamy. Not now, Euphemia, you're mad at him. Focus. "I've seen our tributes do it every year. I picked it up, I guess." Haymitch raised his eyebrows. "Then sure you know how to set traps." "I have _no_ idea." "Come on, then."

Haymitch stood up and held his hand out for her. She stared at his hand, hesitating for a moment, and then took it. It felt warm and familiar. Safe. She sure has cute little hands, Haymitch thought, and then he mentally punched himself in the face. Why was he thinking that, of _Effie_ nonetheless. He reminded himself to let go after a few seconds after she had stood up. He cleared his throat. "Sorry." Effie blushed. "No, that's okay."

When she tried to tie a rope to a stick that she had shoved into the ground, she accidentally let go and the rope slapped her in the face. Haymitch burst out laughing. "It's not funny." Effie yelled. She sported a red mark on on her left cheek. "Sorry, princess. But it looked pretty funny to me!" He laughed even harder. Effie stood up. "Stop calling me princess all the time!" "What, you wish to be called a queen, m'lady?" He took a bow while trying to stop laughing. The bell rang. Training over. Katniss and Peeta stayed to talk with Plutarch as the tributes walked off.

Effie shot Haymitch an angry glare, wiped the dirt off of her shorts and walked towards the elevator with Eden, who had just finished training his knife-throwing. Lucius Crane walked up to them. Quite a handsome man, but also a terrible butt kisser. "Effie, doll, I saw you training today. You did great!" "Thank you." she responded politely. Then Lucius started whispering. "What about and alliance? What do you say darling?" Effie kept staring straight ahead. She knew Haymitch was walking behind them, listening to every word they said.

"I'm afraid you have to discuss that with my mentor first." Lucius looked disappointed. "Effie, darling, come on. Please, for an old love?" "I will think about it." "Alright." he gently grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I will call you, my love." Effie yanked her hand back and he walked off. Haymitch ran up to her. "My _love_?" Effie sighed and placed a hand on her forehead as they stepped into the elevator, leaving Eden behind with Lucius. "Alright he wasn't just a friend. He was my high school sweetheart, Haymitch. But since the day I broke up with him he started stalking me. Phone calls, showing up at the same parties; the whole thing. He gave up at some point. I guess he takes what he can get." –before one of us dies. But she left that part unspoken. "Do you… you know… have a thing for him?" Effie looked confused. "What the hell, Haymitch. Are you _jealous_?" She had to admit it kind of amused her. She suddenly didn't feel so angry anymore.

He raised his hands. "I'm not used to you using that language, Trinket." "You're avoiding the question." "I'm _not_ jealous. I thought, well… maybe you could put on the whole star-crossed lovers thing." "They're never going to buy that again." "You don't know that." Effie tilted her head slightly and looked at him as if he were crazy. Haymitch gave up with a sigh and a smirk. "Alright no, it was a stupid idea. Forget it." They stayed in silence for a while. "Now I want to know the real reason." Effie said. "Were you jealous?" Haymitch looked her in the eyes. "If I tell you that I was you would probably laugh at me." This answer surprised her. The Haymitch she knew didn't care about what other people thought of him.

Effie bit her lip. "Or I could do this." She put her hands on his shoulders elegantly, stood on her tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Haymitch was surprised at this bold action but he didn't pull back. He let his hands rest at her waist. He couldn't lie and say he didn't like it. In fact, he felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Butterflies. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before the elevator bell announced they had reached the Penthouse. They let go.

Effie's face turned red and she looked away at the sudden realization of what she had just done. Haymitch would probably tease her about this all week. But instead of doing so, he grinned at her. "And I think I'd like that, sweetheart. I believe you've forgiven me?" Effie nodded. "I figured you're much more of a help to me when I'm not trying to avoid you. And I knew why you did it. I can't blame you." Haymitch's eyes contained a hint of concern as they walked into the Penthouse. "Just know that I'll do everything I can to help you in the Arena." "I know that." Then Effie smiled at him boldly. "I believe I need some extra help, you know, setting traps and stuff like that." He grinned. "I can help you with that."


	7. Chapter 7

**A looong chapter this time! A little Hayffie too ;) Please read and _review_. I love reviews. They help me to improve my writing, so thanks to all the people that wrote one! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins, except for you know who. Enjoy!**

Haymitch sat at breakfast with Peeta and Katniss the next morning. It was 10:30, Eden had gone to training an hour ago. Effie hadn't shown her face yet, which was strange. She was usually and early bird. No one dared to go to her room; She didn't allow anyone in. "I might be in the shower or changing, for all you know!" She had once said. You wouldn't want an angry Effie in your hair all day nagging about your impropriety. Haymitch took a sip of his wine and thought about it for a moment. He remembered kissing her in the elevator the night before. And sure, he had felt _something_. But why _Effie_, of all women? He used to hate her. Her bright and bubbly mood had annoyed him. She had constantly whined about him drinking too much. She still did that, sometimes. But for different reasons, he figured. She had worn dresses, wigs and makeup that made her look like a box of melted crayons. It had made him wanna puke.

But last night… she was different. She didn't even remotely resemble the Effie he used to know. The feeling in his stomach returned as Effie walked into the room, disheveled hair and a wrinkled dressing gown. "Good morning." she yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Good morning, Effie." Peeta was the only person that seemed polite enough to greet her. "Sweetheart, do you have any idea how late it is?" Haymitch asked as Effie took a seat next to Katniss and grabbed a roll of bread from the basket that was placed in the middle of the table. "No." Effie pushed her hair out of her face and then stared at her plate absent-mindedly. Haymitch snapped his fingers before her face. Her eyes shot up. "Huh?" Haymitch then pointed at the clock on the wall. "It's past 10:30." "Oh good heavens!" Effie sprang up from her seat and walked off before returning slowly. "Haymitch, can I talk to you for a minute?" Haymitch shrugged. "I'll count down, princess." He put his glass down, stood up and walked towards Effie's room, leaving the children behind. They were busy talking anyway.

Once he entered her room, Effie shut the door behind him. "Listen," she began. "what happened yesterday.." she stopped for a second. "-was a mistake?" Haymitch finished. "No, not at all!" Effie waved her hands around trying to come up with an explanation. "I just think we should keep this between the two of us. I don't want to set a bad example for the children, you know?" Haymitch smirked. "That's all?" "Not really. I think it shouldn't happen again." Haymitch's smirk disappeared from his face. "Why not?" "I just think that… you know… I'm in the Arena in a few days and I don't want you to get attached too much. Also, I don't want to get attached either. Do you understand?" Haymitch placed his hands on her shoulders. "Too late, I already care about you. A lot, to be honest. And you're not going to die, sweetheart."

Effie grabbed his hands in hers and placed them against her chest. "Let's just face it, Haymitch. Nobody decent ever wins the Games." "Nobody _ever _wins the Games. There are survivors. No winners." he responded, and remembered saying this earlier. "Exactly." She stared at her feet. Haymitch tilted his head slightly. "Just promise me you'll try." Effie nodded, still looking down. Haymitch put his hand under her chin, raising her head so that she could look him in the eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away carefully before removing his hand. "Now, sweetheart. Get your pretty behind in the shower and get yourself ready for training. My booze is waiting for me on the table." She rolled her eyes and then grinned. "There's the Haymitch Abernathy I know. You know, you're actually pretty sensitive." She turned around, walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. "Only with you, _my love_." he responded, trying not to burst out laughing. "Get out of my room, Haymitch! And remember our agreement!" he heard her yell. He laughed. "And there's the Effie Trinket I know." "Leave!" " I'm going, I'm going!" He ran off.

Training went smoothly that day and the next. Effie got better at setting traps and continued training skills such as running, climbling, balancing and dodging; all with the help of Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta. "So, today is the day you will both be evaluated." Katniss said to Effie and Eden. They were sitting on the sofa in the viewing area. Katniss stood in front of them. "You each have ten minutes to present a chosen skill. Eden, what do you have?" Eden looked up. "I think I'll go with spear throwing." Katniss nodded. "Good choice, what about you, Effie?" Effie bit on her lip and thought for a moment. She was good at camouflage, but knife-throwing would make more of an impression. She knew what it took from her, and it could be a bad thing. "Knife-throwing." she answered. Peeta, who sat next to her, bit on the end of his pen, furrowing his eyebrows. "Not much variety… but you're both good, I'll give you that. Make them remember you, and you'll be fine."

"Eden Trinket." A voice boomed through the speakers down in the Training Center. Effie would be evaluated next. She shuffled her feet as Eden stood up. "Wait." she said, and grabbed his hand. "What is it?" Effie gave him a nervous smile. "I just wanted to say… good luck." He smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. "You have to stop worrying so much, little one." Then he let go and walked through the door before it slid closed. Ten minutes passed by. "Euphemia Trinket." the voice now called. She took a deep breath and stood up. As the door slid open again, Eden walked past her. He gave her a reassuring nod. She nodded back and walked into the large room, as the door slid closed behind her. As she had expected, the people who would be evaluating her weren't paying attention at all. Throwing a knife at them wouldn't work again. And of course the force field was still there.

She grabbed a few knives and faced them. "Euphemia Trinket." she said out loud. A few of them looked her way. Of course, she wasn't as loved by the districts as she was by the Capitol. She tried to let anger grow inside of her as she faced the dummy she was supposed to hit. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and let it fly. Miss. No way. She started to panic a little and looked at the rebels. They were laughing at her and mocking her. "Shut up!" she yelled. Tears started to blur her vision. Using her anger didn't work anymore. She didn't hate Haymitch. But she did hate them. She hesitated to throw the knives at the force field, just to put an end to this. She didn't care anymore. "Loosen your corset, sweetheart, have a drink!" she heard one of them say. _How did they know about that_. Of course, Haymitch must have told them. His 'hilarious' joke. She let out a yell and threw the knives in rapid succession, except for one. She used that one to slash the head off of the dummy. As the head of the dummy fell to the ground, she turned around, slammed the knife onto the table and walked off.

"Are you serious?" Peeta yelled. Effie sat on the sofa in the viewing area with Eden. "Yes, of course I am." Effie replied calmly. "This isn't so bad. You both did it and the gamemakers loved it." "I don't think the rebels love it as much as the gamemakers do." "Peeta, give the woman a break." Haymitch walked in with a glass of liquor. He said down next to her. Peeta protested. "What if this puts her in danger?" "It won't. Trust me." Then he turned to face Effie. "Good job, princess." Effie shot him an angry glare. Then the television flickered on and Caesar Flickerman started speaking about the tributes' training scores. He started with Atala, the head trainer. She would probably team up with Tax. "A ten." Then Tax. "An eleven." Eden put his head in his hands. "Felix Rivendell." Effie's eyes shot up. "A six." Poor boy. Flavius, a six. Octavia, a seven. "Lucius Crane, a nine." she smiled softly to herself. "Eden Trinket." Caesar continued. Effie held on to her brother's hand. "A nine." Effie squealed. "Good job!" "We can work with that." Haymitch said. "And last but not least: Euphemia Trinket." Her picture appeared on the screen, the number eight circled around it. "An eight." "You did it!" Katniss stood up and jumped up and down on the couch. "That calls for a drink!" Haymitch grinned. The television went black. An eight. Maybe she could win this thing.


	8. Chapter 8

**READ THIS FIRST: This chapter contains Hayffie fluff and gets a tiny bit smutty in the end. I won't go in on details or anything. I worked really hard on this one so I hope you like it! Thanks for all the reviews :D I love you guys. Enjoy! Please read and let me know what you think! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins.**

"So, today's the day." Peeta spoke to Effie and Eden. They were all having dinner in the living room area. "Your interviews with Caesar are in 2 hours. Don't be nervous, he's a good guy. " Effie shook her head. "I've had interviews with Caesar before, I know what to do." Haymitch wiped his mouth with his handkerchief and stood up from his chair. "Well, then I suggest you both get yourself cleaned up and get to Magnus. I saw your dress already." He winked at Effie. What was that supposed to mean? She stuffed a chocolate covered strawberry in her mouth, stood up and walked towards her room, head held high, Eden not far behind.

"Open your eyes." Magnus said. Effie opened them and looked in the mirror in front of her. The strapless gown was gorgeous. The bodice was beautiful as it was completely covered in crystal embellishments. The rest of the gown was also done in gorgeous embellishments and cinched in with an equally sparkled waistband. It made for a truly stunning look. Her long blonde hair hung loose down her back in wavy curls. Magnus grabbed two strands of hair on either side of her head and pulled them back. He clipped the strands together on the back of her head with a silver flower. Effie placed a hand over her mouth and then turned to Magnus. "Thank you." she managed to bring out, and she hugged him. "Now don't cry on me, Effie." He grinned. "I want you to look perfect for your interview." Effie nodded and blinked any tear of glee away.

"Is she ready?" she heard Katniss ask. Effie turned to look at Katniss. "Wow, Effie! Magnus, you did a great job, thank you." Katniss grabbed Effie's hand. "Come on, you're up in a minute." Once they walked into the backstage area, they heard Caesar's voice. "Thank you! Octavia, everybody!" They heard people cheering, then Octavia appeared. She immediately made her way to Effie. "Good luck, dear." she whispered. Effie gave her a smile and then looked at the screen on the wall. "And now, ladies and gentlemen." he announced. Effie plucked at her dress. She had to admit she was kind of nervous. "The woman you've all been waiting to see." Katniss looked at Effie. "Good luck." she whispered and backed away a few steps.

"Of course you know her; fashion icon and former escort for District 12. Here she is, Euphemia Trinket!" Effie took a deep breath and made her way to the stage. She put on her fake smile and waved as people were screaming her name. Caesar took her hand. "Euphemia, dear, you look amazing! Of course you always do, as the most beautiful woman in all of Panem! Am I right folks? Hahaha!" People responded by applauding and whistling. They both sat down. "Now, Effie." Caesar began. "How do you feel about this; finally sitting here yourself, ready to go into the Arena?" He pointed the microphone at her. "Well, Caesar, let's just say that it is a true honor to represent the city I was born in!" It was a lie. A big, fat lie. But she kept smiling. "Ahw, isn't she cute ladies and gentlemen?" She faked a giggle. Caesar asked her a couple more questions until he heard the buzzer. "I'm afraid our time is up." He grabbed her hand and stood up, pulling her to her feet. "Euphemia Trinket everyone!" Effie smiled and waved at the crowd. Caesar gave her hand a kiss. "Thank you." he said and motioned for her to step off the stage.

Once backstage she ran into the open arms of Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta. "Good job, Effie!" they all said and they hugged her. "Thanks." Effie smiled and her eyes shot to the screen on the wall. It was Eden's turn now. Dressed in a suit with silver collar and cufflinks; he looked charming as ever. The crowd went wild. After asking him a few questions about the Games in itself, Caesar switched the subject. "So, your sister is going in too. How do you feel about that?" Eden leaned in to speak through the microphone. "You know, as a big brother, I always want to protect her." "I understand." "But looking at her now… She's such a strong, independent woman it frightens me." Effie thought Eden had made a mistake and faced Haymitch with a worried look. "Don't." he said. "He's very good." Effie turned to face the screen again. "She sure is a tough one, Eden." Caesar nodded. It was funny how quickly you could feel understood by that man. It felt like you had known him for years. "I mean, I love her to death. I believe that's literally, looking at the situation we're in. We can't _both_ win. And I will do anything to get her out of there." Caesar nodded in understanding. "You, sir, are a man after my own heart." The buzzer sounded once again. "Eden Trinket, everybody!"

Eden stood up and waved at the cheering crowd. People were applauding him. They gave him a standing ovation, waving with their wallets. That's when it hit Effie for real. There was only one of them who would get out of the Arena, and those people were _betting_ on them. She suddenly felt sick to the stomach. "Effie, are you alright? You look ill." Peeta asked her and put a hand on her forehead. "I have to go." Effie said. She turned around and ran off. "Haymitch?" Peeta tapped on Haymitch's shoulder. "What is it, kid?" "Effie. I think you should go after her. She's not feeling so well." Haymitch looked in the direction of Peeta's finger. He saw a flicker of a silver dress disappearing just around the corner.

Once she reached the Penthouse she ran to the bathroom. She wanted to throw up, but it didn't happen. She grabbed a glass of water and drank all of it within a few seconds. That felt better. She put it down and looked at herself in the mirror. "Look at you." Effie said to her reflection. "You're a tribute. Where's your pride now?" She reached behind her head and tore the flower from her hair. Then she stepped out of the gown and decided to take a quick shower. The last one she would probably ever have.

As she finished blow-drying her hair she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She put her hair in a loose ponytail and threw on her dressing gown. She walked to the door and opened it. It was Haymitch. "What are you-" He pulled her into a hug before she could finish her sentence. She let her body relax and leaned her head against his shoulder. "What were you doing?" he whispered in her ear. "I was feeling ill so I headed back to the Penthouse." "You gave me quite a scare there, sweetheart." Effie smiled at the thought of him calling her sweetheart instead of princess. "I'm sorry." She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. Bright blue staring into deep grey. Haymitch leaned in carefully and before he knew it, he was kissing her. He felt Effie's body tense. Then her eyes fluttered shut and she kissed him back. They pulled apart after a few seconds.

"I thought we had an agreement about this?" Effie asked, staring at his lips. Haymitch grinned. "All is fair in love and war." "You love me?" Effie's eyes focused on Haymitch's again. "I believe I do." he answered. "And you, do you love me?" "I believe I do as well." she whispered and pulled him in for a kiss again. The kiss started out sweet and loving, but soon got heated, passionate and hungry. Effie clutched onto his shirt and let out a soft moan as they fell backwards onto her bed and he started trailing kisses down her neck. Soon their clothes were sent down to the floor, their kisses grew intense, they let their hands roam over each other's bodies and called out each other's names. Haymitch kissed her lips one last time and held her close. Effie's snuggled up to him as he fell sleep. "Don't let me go, Haymitch. Don't ever let me go." She whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

**I know I was worried about this chapter being uploaded today because I was very busy. But, I managed to finish it in time! I hope you like it! Please read and review. Thank you, reviewers and readers. I love you all! Enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for you know who. :p**

Effie opened her eyes to the blinding light that came through the window into her room. She stretched herself and felt something next to her. Something warm. She turned her head. _Haymitch_? She sat upright and looked at him for a moment. Ah, of course. Effie remembered what had happened last night. They had made love, and it had been amazing. She remembered they both had fallen asleep shortly after. She rubbed her eyes and took in her surroundings. She saw a bowl of soup on her night stand. The children must have brought that in, she thought. She threw off the covers and then froze. The children. She let out a groan and put her head in her hands. How embarrassing. She shot a quick look at her alarm clock. It was 8:30 in the morning. "Shoot!" Effie leaped out of the bed, grabbed the clothes that Magnus had given her and put them on. A black V-neck T-shirt, khaki pants and brown boots.

She glanced at herself in the mirror. Great outfit to die in, she thought sarcastically. She turned around to look at Haymitch, who, of course, had slept through it all. The corners of her mouth twitched. She would probably never see him again. After a few attempts of waking him up, without any result, she pressed a kiss onto his lips, wishing it could last forever. "Goodbye, Haymitch." Effie whispered, and turned around before her tears had the change to spill.

After a quick breakfast she was escorted to the hovercraft with Magnus and Eden. She sat down in one of the seats in the hovercraft and looked at the other tributes. How was she ever going to kill these people? Lucius, her high school sweetheart, who was obviously eyeing her up. Felix, the young, innocent boy. Flavius, Octavia... her friends. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. She felt extremely nervous. "Give me your arm." she heard a lady say. Effie opened her eyes and stared in the direction of the voice. The lady injected a tracker in Eden's arm. Then she turned to Effie. "Give me your arm." she said demandingly. Effie reached her arm out and closed her eyes once again. She was never a fan of needles. Before she knew it, the giant needle was in her arm. She pursed her lips and opened her eyes as she heard the beep of the tracker. It lit up for a second. She crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling.

As the hovercraft landed she clutched onto Eden's hand tightly. This is it, Effie thought. All tributes and stylists stood up and made their way underground with the rebels. Suddenly she lost Eden's hand. "Eden?!" she turned around quickly. One of the rebels had pulled them apart and was holding onto Eden's arm firmly, leading him into another corridor. Eden gave her a small smile before he disappeared around the corner. "Effie?" She turned around. Magnus held the door open for her. She stepped in. So this was what a launching room looked like. It looked old, small, and a little scary. It reminded her of her prison cell. She shuddered at the thought. "Are you alright? I think you need a jacket." Magnus grabbed a dark green jacket from a hook and helped her putting it on. "That's better." He said. He then turned Effie around, pulled the black hair elastic from her hair and braided it rapidly. Effie looked at it shortly in the mirror on the wall; it looked exactly like Katniss' signature braid. "Magnus, I don't know-" He shushed her.

"1 minute to launch." a female voice called. Effie darted her eyes around frantically. She was shivering and she felt like she was about to throw up. Magnus placed his hands on her arms and rubbed them gently. Then he pulled her in for a hug. "30 seconds to launch." the voice called again. "It's alright." Magnus tried to comfort her a little. "Take a deep breath." Effie nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath as told. "10 seconds to launch." Now Effie really wanted to shut that voice up. Magnus loosened his grip on her and Effie stepped back, into the tube. "EFFIE!" she heard a voice. It wasn't just any voice. It was Haymitch. "Haymitch!" Effie managed to yell back before they were separated by a wall of glass. Haymitch put his hand against it, Effie placed her hand on the glass to cover his and looked him in the eyes. The tube started rising slowly. "No! Wait!" Effie called out and crouched down. She looked at him, uselessly trying to stop the tube from rising. _I love you_, she read on his lips before he got out of view. _Stay alive_.

She let out a few quiet sobs before realizing she had to stay focused. She blinked her tears away and stood up. A clear blue sky came in view above her head. She looked around. The arena was beyond beautiful. The Cornucopia sat in the middle of a sweet-smelling green meadow, and the sky was azure blue, with fluffy, billowing white clouds. The meadow stretched for miles, and far in the distance there were woods and a snow-capped mountain. It was gorgeous. It reminded her of an arena she had seen before.

"Oh good heavens, look at that!" Caesar exclaimed. Katniss and Peeta sat on the sofa in the viewing room, watching Caesar and Claudius give their commentary about this year's arena. They sure had recognized this one. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the arena of the Second Quarter Quell; Poison Paradise! It was one of the best years of the Hunger Games. In honour of this anniversary, twice the number of regular tributes were sent into the arena, giving a total of 48 tributes. The Games were won by District 12's very own Haymitch Abernathy!" Claudius took over and gave the viewers a quick description of the arena. "Everything in the arena is lethally poisonous, including the food growing in the arena, the water in the stream, the butterfly stings, and even the scent of the flowers when inhaled too directly. The only sources of safe food and water in the arena are the rainwater and the food from the Cornucopia." Peeta's eyes widened and he turned to Katniss. "Did we ever teach her how to distinct poisonous plants from edible plants? Because I don't think we did!" Katniss shushed him. "I did, don't worry about it. And for all we know, she might even recognize the arena and know what to do."

She certainly did. Horrifying mages of the 50th Hunger Games she had seen when she was only a few years old flashed before her eyes. "Let the 76th Hunger Games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favour." _How sick_. "60, 59, 58, 57.." Claudius Templesmith began the countdown. Effie looked around for Eden. There he was, a few platforms away. He nodded at her and then looked at the woods. He wanted to tell her she absolutely shouldn't run to the Cornucopia, it would probably cost her her life. "46, 45, 44, 43.." Effie nodded at the bow that was lying on top of a few backpacks. Eden put up his thumb, careful not to show it to anyone. He should get the bow before Tax did. "28, 27, 26, 25, 24.." Effie took a deep breath. "17, 16, 15.." Haymitch had quickly managed to get back to the Penthouse, he had had quite the argument with the pilot of the hovercraft because he had wanted 'the damn thing to go faster'. He ran towards the viewing room. "What did I miss?" he asked Katniss. "Nothing, sit down." "10, 9.." Haymitch digged his nails into the sofa once he saw the arena. "8, 7.." His knuckles slowly started turning white. "6, 5, 4.." Effie closed her eyes and felt the soft wind caressing her cheeks. "3.." "I love you too, Haymitch." she whispered, hoping he would notice it somehow. "2.." she clenched her fists. "1." She forgot what Eden had told her, and with the sound of the gong she started running towards the Cornucopia.


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter took me hours. I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review! And to all reviewers and readers: I love you guys! I really enjoy writing the story :) All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for you know who by now. :p**

She did not hear anything. She did not hear the strangled cries of tributes who were being killed, she did not hear any footsteps, she did not even hear Eden yelling at her. All Effie could focus on was getting to the Cornucopia. She ran and ran until she was out of breath. As she finally reached the Cornucopia she grabbed one of the backpacks and a few knives to attach to her belt later. "Effie, watch out!" she turned around. One of the tributes was running up to her with a spear and threw it. Effie let out a scream and dove to the ground. The spear touched her cheek just barely and created a small cut under her eye. She looked up. The tribute was lying on the ground, dead. His neck was bent in a sickening way. "That was a close one, Eff. I told you not to run to the Cornucopia." Eden said. She stood up quickly, trembling with fear. "You killed the poor man!" "He was trying to kill _you_. I had no choice!" His face was red with anger and the veins in his neck were swollen, like they were about to explode.

"Don't stand there. Run!" Eden grabbed her arm and pulled her with him. Effie ran as fast as her legs could carry her and she looked around, trying to find her allies among the fighting tributes. Lucius was gone and she didn't see Octavia either. Where was Flavius? Then Octavia appeared behind them with a backpack in her arms. "Octavia, have you seen Flavius?" Effie yelled. Octavia closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. "Eden, can we stop for a second?" Eden turned around to take a quick look at the Cornucopia. He nodded; they were on a safe distance from the bloodbath. They stopped, trying to catch their breath. "Octavia." Effie tried again, panting heavily, and grabbed her by the arms. "What-" "He's dead! Alright?!" Effie's eyes widened. "I saw it happening right in front of me. The knife was in his chest before I knew it." Octavia placed a hand on her forehead and removed strands of hair from her face. Effie was about to answer when she heard the cannon. And another one. And another one. Five cannon sounds for five dead tributes, Flavius among them.

Effie felt tears well up in her eyes and pulled Octavia in for a hug. Octavia started sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry." Effie whispered. A few minutes later she let go and Octavia wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and fanned her face with her hands. "We should go into the woods, where we'll be safe." she said. Eden nodded in agreement. Effie put her arm around Octavia's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her as they walked into the woods. It smelled of pine. Effie smiled softly. It reminded her of Katniss. The girl was practically in love with the woods. They walked for about thirty minutes before settling down. "This looks like a great place to stay, doesn't it?" Eden said. "It does." Effie answered and sat down, careful not to touch any poisonous plants. "Now let's take a look at what we have in our backpacks." She opened hers: One bottle of water, a rope and a blanket. Then Octavia opened her backpack: A compass, a bandage and a piece of bread.

"That's good." Octavia commented. "Now let's make ourselfs a fire to keep warm." "No!" Effie said sternly. "They might be able to locate us if we do that. We should use the blanket to keep us warm instead." Eden grinned. "Smart thinking, little one. Did Haymitch teach you that?" Effie shrugged and put her things in the backpack. "I picked up some of his advice in previous years, you know, when he was mentoring." Of course, Haymitch had neglected their tributes almost every year. But when he did give advice, it was good. As the three of them shared the bottle of water, Effie heard something in the bushes. Her head shot up. She signalled the others to stay quiet as she grabbed a small knife from her belt and stepped back.

Suddenly Lucius appeared, swatting away some flies, he had nothing but a spear in his hand. "Lucius! You scared us to death!" Octavia yelled angrily. Lucius shot an angry glare her way and then turned to look at Effie. "Darling, great to see you alive!" She rolled her eyes at him. He walked up to her with open arms, as if to hug her, when Eden stepped in front of Effie. "Don't even think about touching her, freak." "Eden, don't." Effie pushed him aside gently. Lucius smiled broadly and stepped in to hug her again. Effie shook her head but gave him a quick hug anyway. "You missed that, didn't you?" Lucius whispered in her ear. Effie pushed him away. "Don't go too far, now." Then she looked at Eden. "We should rest here. It's getting dark so we should take shifts. I will take first watch." "No you're not." Eden protested. "I will take it." Always the protective brother, Effie thought. It was annoying sometimes, but also kind of adorable. "Sure thing. Then I'll take second watch."

Effie woke up to the anthem of Panem. Her eyes shot up at the sky. Trees? She was trying to remember where she was. There were pictures in the sky. Fallen tributes. Of course; she was in the arena. Effie counted the pictures. The picture of Flavius caught her off guard for a second. Seven, eight, nine. Nine tributes dead. Fifteen tributes left. She didn't remember seeing the picture of Felix. That calmed her down a little. She was glad that they had survived the first day.

So was Haymitch. His eyes had been glued to the television since the countdown. "Haymitch, you probably should go to bed now." Katniss yawned. "You look exhausted." Haymitch didn't answer. Katniss sighed deeply and sat down next to him. His eyelids were drooping. She noticed he hadn't had a drink since he had gone to the launching room to say goodbye to Effie. That was new. "Hey, are you alright?" She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine kid, go to bed." Katniss took a deep breath and reached for the remote. Then she turned off the television. "What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled and tried to steal the remote from her. "Don't worry, Haymitch. They're safe!" -for now. "Effie almost got killed in the bloodbath!" "Yeah! But she lives!" Katniss yelled out. The tone of her own voice startled her. She calmed down. "I'm sorry. But you need to understand that she'll manage. She survived the bloodbath and the rest of the first day and that proves a lot." Haymitch nodded. "Alright, but I'm sleeping on the sofa." Katniss stood up and walked off. "As you wish. Good night, Haymitch." "Night." he lay down and stared at the black television screen. He had always thought she deserved this. That 'uptight bitch from the Capitol'. He regretted saying that somehow. Now he wanted nothing more than to get her back in his arms safely. Whining about his manners and drinking habits, walking around the house in his giant T-shirts, burning the eggs she wanted to fry for breakfast, crawling in bed with him after she had had another nightmare. He missed her, that was for sure. "Good night, Effie." he whispered to the television screen. Effie had made him _way_ too mellow, he thought before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! I adore you guys, you keep me motivated to write more. As requested I will involve more Haymitch in the chapters. I was already planning to anyway so that worked out pretty well :) ****A friend of mine came up with the idea of Haymitch as a gamemaker. ****This is the longest chapter I ever wrote :o Please read and review. Enjoy! **

**KIND OF IMPORTANT: A little more info about the characters I made up: All characters b****elong to Suzanne Collins except for _Felix_ (Elizabeth Banks (Effie's portrayer) has a son named Felix, she also has a son named Magnus), _Magnus_, _Lucius_ (I made the name up, but I wanted to have a face so I could see the story happening in front of me. So I chose Chris Pine. He also plays Elizabeth's 'brother' in the movie People Like Us. I thought James Marsden looked more like Elizabeth, especially when he's smiling, so I chose him as Effie's brother.) and _Eden_.**

"Goodmorning, Haymitch." Peeta walked into the viewing room, fully dressed and ready to go out the door. Haymitch, who had only slept for about four hours, sat on the sofa, still in his pajamas. "Goodmorning." he grumbled. Peeta grabbed his jacket from the coat rack and sat down next to Haymitch. "Are you alright?" he asked. Haymitch hadn't talked much nor had he eaten anything and that concerned both Katniss and Peeta. "You don't look so good." Haymitch waved it off. "I'm fine kid." Peeta wasn't convinced. He left his coat on the sofa and went for the kitchen to prepare Haymitch's breakfast.

He came back with two sandwiches and a glass of milk and gave it to him. Haymitch looked tired. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin had a yellowish tint. He glanced at the food, hesitated for a bit and then took it. "That's better." Peeta said and then looked at the screen. The tributes were still asleep, except for Effie. She was always an early riser. She sat on a low branch in a tree and was taking in her surroundings. The sunrise looked beautiful, far off in the distance. Suddenly the phone started ringing. Haymitch groaned and answered it. He thought it was way too early for a proper conversation. "Yes?" he spoke in the horn. "Haymitch? It's Plutarch. We need you down here in the control room." "Why? Can't it wait?"

Peeta stood up, grabbed his coat and headed out the door. "I'm off finding sponsors. See you later, Haymitch." Haymitch covered the horn with his hand. "Good luck, kid. Find as many as possible." Peeta nodded obediently before closing the door behind him. Then Haymitch turned to Plutarch again. "Why do you need me?" "We need extra gamemakers." Haymitch's lips formed a hard line. This could be a good thing. He could help Effie. But he also knew the other gamemakers would be watching him like hawks. See every little detail. They wanted her dead. He looked over at the screen. Effie was curiously toying with one of her knives. "I'll do it." he told Plutarch. "Excellent. We expect you in the control room at noon." Then he ended the call.

Effie attached the knife to her belt. She had thought about these Games a lot. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, she deserved this. She had played the angel of death for far too long. This was only fair, in her opinion. She decided to wake up the rest before overthinking too much. She jumped from the branch and woke Eden first. He sat up, obviously startled; his eyes darted around before landing on Effie. He calmed down a little. "You scared me, little one." "Sorry." Effie mumbled and helped him to his feet before hearing a low growl. "You don't have to be so cranky." she said to him. Her lips formed a thin line. "You know I don't _have_ to wake you up. But I thought-" "Before you start nagging I want you to know that wasn't me." Effie wanted to protest but Eden stopped her. His eyes grew wide and he pointed over her shoulder. "Turn around _very_ slowly." Effie did as told and stopped herself from screaming by placing a hand over her mouth.

Her nose barely touched with the nose of a giant bear-mutt. The mutt was looking at her curiously, and sniffed her hair. "Don't move until I say so." Eden whispered and carefully woke Octavia and Lucius. Eden signalled them to be quiet as they saw the mutt. Octavia was trembling with fear. She did not like bears at all. They slowly packed their stuff as Effie stood in front of the bear, terrified. Eden grabbed a small rock. "Effie, I'm going to count down now. As soon as I get to 0 you run, alright?" Effie carefully nodded. "3… 2…" he threw the rock over the mutt. The bear turned around curiously. "1…" Effie slowly stepped back. "0, run!" Effie turned around and followed the others, running as fast as she could. The mutt seemed to notice it, let out a huge roar and followed them. He was faster than they had thought. Octavia, who walked in front of Effie, looked back every few seconds. "Don't look back, keep running!" Effie yelled before she understood the terrified look on Octavia's face just few moments ago. She felt the heavy paw of the mutt on her ankle, let out a cry of pain and stumbled. Octavia grabbed her arm before she could hit the ground and break her leg, and pulled her to the side. They kept running. "Eden, kill it!" she shrieked.

Upon hearing this, Eden, who was running a few feet ahead, turned around and stabbed the mutt in its eye with his spear. The mutt let out another roar and ran further before collapsing on the ground. Lucius, Octavia and Effie now stopped running and panted heavily. "What in the world..?" Effie said. She sat down on the ground and studied her left ankle. It looked a little bruised, but it didn't hurt enough to be broken. It should be fine. "Where are we?" Lucius asked. Effie looked around. She knew exactly were they were. Out of the woods; the edge of the arena. She looked around. She sat on the exact same spot where Haymitch had won, 26 years ago. _Haymitch_. She stood up and walked towards the edge. "What are you doing?" Octavia asked. Effie didn't answer and kicked a pebble off the edge instead. It came back up immediately and fell in her hand. "Force field." "Haymitch had used the force field to win the Games," Lucius commented, "am I right?" Effie nodded and dropped the pebble.

"We shouldn't stay out here in the open. Perhaps we should-" she stopped speaking when she saw a pair of deep green eyes staring at her from the bushes. She narrowed her eyes. "Wait here, please." She approached the figure carefully and sat down a few feet from the bushes. "Felix?" she asked. The boy stood up slowly, he was trembling with fear. "Hello Felix, dear." she tried again. "Come here, I won't hurt you." Felix bit on his lip and looked over at the other tributes. Effie looked behind her. "They won't hurt you either." Surprisingly that seemed to be enough for the young boy and he stepped out of the bushes. He was very small for his age. But then again, so was Effie. She reached out her hand and Felix grabbed it firmly. She stood up and returned to the group. "Look, we have a new addition to the team." she grinned. "This is Felix." Octavia crouched down before the boy. "Hello. I am Octavia. And these boys are Eden and Lucius. They are the big boys who protect us." Effie let out a giggle. Eden and Lucius gave the shy boy a small wave.

"We should probably head back to a safer place." Lucius told them. "As expected, Tax and Atala have teamed up and they're close." Effie tilded her head slightly. "How do you know that?" "I saw them yesterday and I-" "Yesterday?" Eden furrowed his eyebrows. "You're just now saying that they're close to us and you didn't tell us yesterday?" Lucius shrugged. "Damnit Lucius! We could have been killed!" Octavia yelled. Effie tried to cover the young boy's ears, but of course he had heard Octavia swear. Effie gave her a disapproving look. "At least we're alive now, so it doesn't matter anymore." she said. "Sure." Eden mumbled in protest. "I'm hungry." "We can share the bread, but that's all there is." Octavia said. Effie groaned. She knew the only edible food was at the Cornucopia. And that was exactly where the danger was. As a Capitolian, she wasn't used to not eating. She didn't overeat, of course, she needed to be in perfect shape at all times. The people in the districts were starving, and even they had a hard time in the arena, longing for food. "We need to find water." she said after looking in her backpack. "The bottle is almost empty." "Then I'm afraid we have to wait until it rains." Eden said. "Or we have to go to the Cornucopia this instant." Right now, that was a risk they were willing to take.

Haymitch buried his face in his hands. That stupid mutt. That stupid bear. It had been one of the rebel's ideas and he had to perform the task. He was glad the mutt hadn't killed Effie, but it had been a close one. He had made sure the mutt would drive them to the edge of the arena. The place he had won. That was were Felix was hiding, and Haymitch had wanted Effie to find the kid. The opportunities he had as a gamemaker were as helpful as they were dangerous. One wrong move and she would be dead. He knew that. But he had a promise to keep and he was not willing to break it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey helloooo. Chapter 12 is up! Please read and review. Your reviews really help me to make this story even better, so thanks for all the reviews so far! Enjoy!**

**IMPORTANT: I won't update this story tomorrow because I got an important test coming up and it's my little brother's birthday! I promise I will upload the next chapter in two days.**

"There it is," Eden sighed, "the gateway to death." The group had almost reached the Cornucopia. They had walked for hours in the meadow that stretched for miles, out in the open. Lucius had taken the small Felix on his back after the boy's feet had gotten sore. "Or to life." Lucius said. "Don't be so pessimistic." They were caught off guard by two cannon sounds. Tax and Atala could be seen at the Cornucopia with two bodies. "Shit." Lucius whispered. They came to a standstill and waited until the hovercraft picked up the bodies and Tax and Atala were gone.

"We're on a safe distance, now go." Eden said. They walked further until they reached the Cornucopia. They grabbed a few water bottles and some food; enough for the next two days. As Effie packed the bottles in her backpack, her eyes shot up at every little sound that could mean danger. Her ears weren't lying to her. Atala came up behind Lucius and Felix. "Watch out!" Effie shrieked. Lucius turned around and dodged Atala's axe. Felix immediately hid behind Octavia. Atala now made a go for Effie. She manoeuvred around Eden, grabbed Effie by the collar and pushed her against the Cornucopia, axe on her throat. "You bitch." Atala spat and grabbed Effie's throat, squeezing the air out of her, making it even harder for her to fight back.

Effie began wondering why they all wanted her dead. What had she done wrong? Her eyes grew wide at the realization; the Rebellion. The Capitolians considered her as a rebel. Truth was, Effie knew neither side wanted her. She didn't belong anywhere. She pushed against Atala's chest with all the power she possessed in order to break free from her death grip. Atala's deep brown eyes bore into Effie's bright blue ones with so much fury, Effie believed she'd never been more terrified. "Sleep tight, traitor." Atala sneered. Effie was about to give up when Lucius dragged Atala away from her, receiving a blow from the axe in the process. Lucius managed to twist her neck in such a way, that it was lethal. The cannon sounded. Effie fell to her knees, gasping for air. She heard Eden yell that they should keep an eye out for Tax.

Effie heard someone coughing and gasping for air. It was Lucius. He was lying in the grass, desperately trying to stop the wound in his stomach from bleeding. "Lucius!" Effie's voice sounded raw. She crawled to his side. "Lucius, don't die on me!" she coughed. "You saved my life!" Octavia sat down next to Effie and held Lucius hand. "We need you." Octavia said. Effie looked her in the eyes. "I'm getting help." She said. "No…" Lucius said. "Stay with me." Effie cringed and averted her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip. Eden came up to them with Felix. "What in the world happened?" He didn't need an answer, as he saw Lucius on the ground, the bloodstain in his shirt quickly getting bigger. Life was seeping out of him, literally. Effie pursed her lips, thinking deeply, and then leaned in to place a soft kiss on Lucius' lips. She felt Lucius smiling softly before she felt his last breath against her lips and heard the familiar sound of a cannon.

Octavia let go of Lucius' hand and put an arm around Effie's shoulder. Felix sat down next to them. They waited there until a hovercraft took Lucius' body away. How many tributes had died already? Twelve? She didn't want to know. This was sickening. "Let's go." Eden said. Effie nodded and stood up with Felix and Octavia, then they headed back into the woods. The next few days passed by without many problems. Five more tributes died; whether they were killed by other tributes, lack of hydration -it hadn't rained in days-, mutts or poisoned plants. Fortunately, Effie, Eden, Octavia and Felix were still alive. Alive and starving, by now. Hiding out in the woods. Peeta had sent them some bread, but it wasn't enough.

Haymitch sat on the sofa in the viewing room, watching Effie sleep. Katniss came up to him, hiding something behind her back. "Hey, Haymitch." she said, and sat down on the sofa. "I got something that might cheer you up a bit." She revealed the object she had held behind her back; Effie's golden wig. Haymitch smiled at it. "We're a team, aren't we?" Katniss said. She put the wig on Haymitch's head and burst out laughing. "You look great, darling!" Katniss laughed, trying to imitate Effie's accent. Haymitch grinned and took the wig off his head. "You know, Katniss.." he began, and took a deep breath. "I think I miss her." Katniss nodded in understanding. "So do I." Haymitch shook his head and put the wig down on the coffee table. "You don't miss her the way I do." Katniss raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" Haymitch pursed his lips. He wasn't used to having conversations like this. "I..." he bit his lip, deep in thought. "I love her, that is."

Katniss grinned and then averted her eyes. Since when was the floor so interesting? "Yeah, we saw that." Haymitch furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak, but Katniss interrupted him. "We brought you the soup." She decided to tease him a little bit. "Too bad you didn't have any time to eat it." Haymitch grabbed the wig and threw it in her face teasingly. "We'll never talk about it again." "Thank you." Katniss agreed. "So… how's your job in the control room?" "Hard." Haymitch admitted. "If I'm not extremely careful, she's dead." Katniss pursed her lips. "I don't think she is her own priority. She wants to get the boy out. You know, Felix." "-and Eden and Octavia." Haymitch finished her sentence. "Sweetheart, Effie wants everybody out."

He was as right as he could be. As wounded and starving as she was, she wanted to protect the others. Knowing deep inside that she didn't have the power to do so. Every night she stared at the pictures in the sky, knowing that there were only six tributes left. Four of them were here. No one had been killed in the past two days, so she knew the gamemakers would come up with something sooner or later. Effie dreamed about Haymitch. Damn she missed him. She missed his protective arms around her, his cranky mood in the morning, even the smell of liquor. Oh, how badly she wanted to find a way to contact him. But she knew she couldn't say anything. All eyes were on her. Haymitch could get into serious trouble.

The next morning Octavia was feeling ill. She had a high fever and was rambling on and on about things Effie didn't understand. "I'm so hungry…" she kept saying. "I'm so thirsty..." They had given her the blanket to keep her warm, but the problem was; they didn't have food, nor did they have water. Eden went out to find something to eat and Felix was still sleeping peacefully. Effie kept praying for rain, and surprisingly, it came. "Oh my goodness!" Effie stood up from the ground when she felt a drop of water on her hand. Octavia hid her head under the blanket. "I'm so cold." she mumbled. "Wait here, Octavia." Effie answered. "I'm going to bring you water." She ran to an open spot in the woods, grabbed a bottle from her backpack and filled it with rainwater. When she came back, she dropped the bottle immediately. "Octavia don't eat that!" she cried out.


	13. Chapter 13

**Finally, an update! Those two days felt like ages. That's what you get when you update your story every day, I guess. Ohhh how I enjoy writing this story. Please read and review! Thanks for all your reviews, they really help and motivate me. Enjoy! **

"Octavia!" Effie ripped the poisoned plant out of Octavia's hand and threw it away quickly. She kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. It felt extremely hot. "Have you gone mad? Did you eat that?" Octavia stared at her blankly and then slowly nodded. Effie started sobbing uncontrollably. "Shit! Octavia! This plant is lethal when eaten! You'll be dead in a few minutes!" She stood up and looked at the clear blue sky. "Peeta! Haymitch! Katniss! Anyone, please help!" she yelled. Nothing. She tried it again and again. She was waiting for the familiar beeping sound of the parachute, but it didn't come. "Help us, please!" She started sobbing even harder and sat down in the grass, defeated. She grabbed onto Octavia's hand firmly.

Felix had woken up from Effie's voice and sat down next to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. Effie's eyes shot up at the boy. This was the first time he had spoken. That poor little boy, she thought. Trapped in these murderous Games. He would either die or live a life time with guilt and nightmares. She didn't want him to have it either way. Sometimes, the living part was worse, she was once told. "Yes." Effie lied, wiped her tears from her face and put an arm around the boy's shoulder. They heard Octavia, she was trying to speak but she was unable to. Her throat was swollen.

Octavia's breathing became heavier and her face and hands were covered in a rash. "Stay alive Octavia. Help will arrive soon." she said. It was a lie. A sick, cruel lie. She didn't know if they could safe her. She just hoped. "Relax and look at the beautiful sky." She pointed upwards. "See those clouds? Amazing, aren't they? They look so soft. Like you could sleep on them for years." Effie could hardly choke her tears back. That's when Eden returned, covered in scratches from the bushes. "Hey, I got some food from the Cornucopia." He gave the fresh pieces of fruit to Effie. "What's going on?" he asked. "Is she doing worse?" Felix stared at the ground, he was as mute as before. "She's dying." Effie answered softly. Then the tears started spilling. Octavia was one of her best friends. So was Flavius. And she had lost them both within a week.

But maybe it was not too late for Octavia. When she heard a sound that made her smile from ear to ear, she jumped up and ran to the big tree. A parachute had landed on the lowest branch. She opened it; a note was attached to a small bottle that contained a purple liquid.

'_Let her dr__ink it quickly. Stay alive. –H'_

She smiled up to the sky. He hadn't forgotten her. _Thank you_, she whispered. She turned around and ran back to the group with a smile on her face. "Octavia! I got-" Eden interrupted her. "She's gone." Effie's smile faded. "No she's not. Look I got medicine!" She held up the small bottle proudly. That's when the cannon sounded. The corners of her mouth twitched. "I'm sorry, little one." Eden said. Effie blinked a few times. It was too late. She let out a cry of defeat and threw the bottle at the big tree. It broke into a million pieces.

Effie didn't cry. She didn't wince. She didn't show any emotion nor did she talk. There were five tributes left. Sooner or later, it was her turn. She could not break up their alliance. Eden was her brother and Felix was a twelve year old boy who resembled Peeta in so many ways, aside from his deep green eyes, that it hurt. She didn't want to know what would happen if they killed the other two tributes together and had to kill one another. They would probably die from starvation or mutts, one by one. The desire to die at this point in time was overwhelming, but so was the desire to see Haymitch again.

Haymitch silently cursed himself. He had looked for the sponsors, temporarily leaving the control room behind, and he had gotten enough money to purchase the medicine and send it into the arena with the note. Usually that was Peeta's job, but the boy and Katniss were having an interview with Caesar about their tributes belonging to the final six. Haymitch had decided to stay home and help their tributes if needed. He knew Octavia wasn't one of _their_ tributes. But when Effie had begged for the medicine, he had to give in. Sadly, the medicine had come too late to safe her life. Haymitch felt like he had failed Effie. She seemed so mad, so defeated, so tired and empty. He felt selfish because the sound of the cannon had been like music to his ears; Effie was one step closer to victory. To him.

Now, he was given the hardest of tasks he had gotten during these Games. He had to send in the birds. He called them Maysilee-birds. It was comforting and painful at the same time; the birds were as beautiful as they were lethal, just like Maysilee. It was as if she were still there. He had been too late to safe her. What if these birds killed Effie too? He didn't want to think about it. He swiped the birds he saw in front of him, in blue, 3D lines, to the small arena in the middle of the room and hoped for the best.

"Effie, have you seen the boy?" Effie looked up. "Is he gone?" Eden shrugged. "I think he is, I can't find him anywhere." Effie got a little mad at him, but decided to keep it together, as a lady should. Felix had probably decided to go off on his own, seeing as there were only five tributes left. But Effie's concern for the boy was too big to be ignored. "Then let's have a look, shall we?" she asked and stood up from the ground. As they were walking through the breath-taking forest, illuminated by the soft orange light of the sunset, they saw shadows falling over them. Quick shadows. Eden looked up. Birds. Candy-floss colored pink birds with skewer-like beaks. "Wow, those look like the birds that killed Maysilee Donner." he whispered. Effie looked up as well. Those birds _were_ the birds that had killed Maysilee. The birds were all headed into one direction. "Felix must be there." Effie said softly and pulled Eden with her, following the mutts.

They were right. Felix was up in a tree, climbing higher and higher, fleeing from a young woman with short brown hair who was climbing a few feet below him, dangerously swaying with her sword. "Felix!" Effie yelled. Felix turned his head. "Help!" he screamed. The woman turned her head as well and her mouth formed a thin line in disgust as she took in Effie's figure. "Ah, there she is." she hissed. "The traitor. Have fun watching how I kill this little boy of yours!" Effie quickly stated that it was now or never. She had promised to herself to not kill anyone, but this was a serious situation. She grabbed the biggest knife she had from her belt and threw it in one swift move, hitting the woman in the head. Effie covered her ears and closed her eyes as Eden witnessed the woman falling from the tree and hitting the ground with the nauseating sound of bones breaking. The cannon sounded. Four.

She opened her eyes. She was glad the woman's face was turned away. The angles in her limbs already didn't seem quite right. She looked up. "You should come down now." Effie said. Felix nodded and climbed down the tree. He was soon interrupted by the birds surrounding him and pecking at his face and neck. "Felix!" she yelled, not quite knowing what to do. Eden was faster than she could think at this moment and climbed the tree as well, shooing the birds away and trying not to let them hurt him. Felix tried to smack the mutts away as they, unimpressed by Eden's movements, pecked at his neck. "Eden, climb faster! They will kill him!" Effie yelled. "I got him!" he said and climbed down the tree as fast as he could with the boy on one shoulder. The birds gave up and flew away. Effie sighed in relief. She hoped the boy was alright. As Eden walked up to her with the boy in his arms, she knew she was wrong.


	14. Chapter 14

**14! I hope you like it; this chapter kind of broke my heart. Please read and review, (thanks again for all the reviews!) and enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for Felix in this chapter.**

Felix was heavily wounded. He was skewered through the throat; barely breathing. Effie had a hard time containing her tears. Eden lay Felix in Effie's arms, touched by how much Effie cared for this young boy without even really knowing him. Effie sat down with her back against the tree and placed Felix's head in her lap. She stroked his hair softly. She though it was unfair. Her head was pounding with the thousands of unanswered questions. Why did he have to die? Why did anyone have to die? Did this really make the rebels feel better? Revenge? Is that what they had always wanted?

She was shaken out of her thoughts by Felix' soft voice. "Do you want to sing for me?" she could make out of it. Effie nodded; half-smiling, half-crying. Eden sat down next to the two and put his arm around Effie's shoulder. She thought of a song. Katniss had taught her one, she remembered. She knew everyone in the districts hated her voice -her accent, above all- but her mother had always told her she had a soothing voice when it came to singing. The first words came out shakily, but her voice grew more steady as the song progressed.

"_Deep in the meadow, under the willow.  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes.  
And when you awake, the sun will rise._"

She sniffed once and let her hand rest on the boy's cheek. She continued;

"_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she heard the cannon. Three.

"NO!" Haymitch threw the glass of water he held in his hand at the television screen. Staying sober enough for Effie had been his priority over the past few days. He had taken the day off to watch the Games in the viewing room. It had been hard seeing Octavia die. He wasn't really close to her or anything, but they had talked every once in a while. He knew Katniss was a close friend of Octavia's. She had walked off as soon as she had heard the cannon and had locked herself up in her room. Not even Peeta could come in. Now this boy died, this little boy Effie cared about without a clear reason why. And he had done it. He killed the boy. Effie would kill him for this if she knew.

He watched as Effie sang to the boy and stroked his hair. Like he was her own son, so lovingly. The sound of the cannon was like a stab in the heart. He saw Effie closing her eyes. Eden wrapping his arms around her. But she didn't cry. Instead she got angry; real angry. She broke free from her brother's embrace and looked up to the sky. "He's dead!" she yelled to no one in particular and pointed at the boy. "He's dead! This is what you wanted right?!" She stood up and started laughing like mad person. "Effie, calm down!" Eden shushed her. She ignored him and spread her arms. "I hope you're happy now! I also hope you realize what you just did." She dropped her arms and fell to her knees, next to the boy. "Damnit." she whispered, not caring about her language in the least. Eden walked up to her and pulled her to her feet as a hovercraft appeared to take Felix' body away.

"This is it then," Effie whispered as the photos of the three dead tributes appeared in the sky at midnight. They had walked towards the edge of the arena again. There were still three of them. Tax, Eden and Effie. Two of them would be dead in the next 24 hours, Effie knew that. And the Victor was either going to be Eden or Tax. Eden bit on his lip, thinking deeply. "I think Tax will come to look for us soon." he said. "Well? Stay positive, Eden. We're with two, he's alone. And you're pretty good." Effie chirped, trying to get some positivity into his dark mood. "You know what I mean, little one." Eden grumbled. "If we kill him, what happens to us?" Effie shrugged. "One of us will die soon enough. We don't have to kill each other, you know." It stayed silent. Effie didn't need a response anyway. They liked that, sometimes. Silence. It meant they had time to think about things. Effie thought about Katniss and Peeta. What were they doing right now? What thoughts filled their waking hours? Were they alright? And then, of course, Haymitch. She wanted to contact him, in some way. There was still a possibility that she would never see him again.

She crawled over to the spot where Haymitch had become a victor and looked around. The sky was clear, filled with thousands and thousands of bright, shining stars. She then looked at the ground beneath her. It was sand. She could write something in it to contact Haymitch! The idea made her smile. But it shouldn't be too obvious, she stated. He had to recognize it. Only him. A drawing, maybe. She then thought of something ridiculous that she knew only Haymitch would recognize. It could appear as just a dumb drawing, but it almost embodied their relationship.

She gathered the sand around her and started drawing lines in the sand with her finger tips. A bottle of liquor. It looked good, and recognizable. She continued drawing, now using her knife, to make the lines more precise. This time it was a lipstick stain on the bottle. Perfect. "What are you doing, little one?" Eden asked and scooted over next to Effie. "What does this look like?" Effie asked, just out of curiosity. "Let's see… Hmm… It looks like a bottle of booze with lips on it or something." Eden shook his head. "Are you drunk, Effie? This makes no sense." "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just bored, you know? I'm trying to entertain myself." Dangerous move, she would find that out later.

Eden raised his eyebrows and then turned away, yawning. "Come on, you need some sleep too." "I think you need it more that I do." Effie grinned. "Just… let me stay out here for a while." Eden nodded. "Whatever you like, Eff." He stood up and headed for the tree line where they had set up their camp.

It was 4 in the morning and Haymitch was still awake, staring at the television screen, taking in Effie's drawing. What in the world was Trinket trying to do? He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and started re-drawing it. A bottle, and… it looked like lips. Kind of. Lipstick, maybe. That would make sense. What could it mean? Then it hit him. The bottle, that could be him... The lipstick was be Effie... She had reached out to him! Haymitch looked at the screen again. Effie drew a tiny heart above the bottle, then removed the whole drawing with her hands, stood up and headed back to the tree line. Haymitch's heart missed a beat. Oh, how he hoped that she would be back soon.

Katniss came into the room. Her dressing gown wrapped around her. "Hello, sweetheart." Haymitch said. "What are you doing here so early?" Katniss sat down to him and shook her head. "Couldn't sleep." "I know the feeling." "How's Effie doing?" Katniss then asked. "Same." Haymitch shrugged. "The deaths of her friends have really upset her. She cried almost every time. So, emotionally, she's a wreck." Katniss nodded as Haymitch continued. "Physically, she looks really tired, she's got a few burns and cuts I guess, and the both of them are starving." "Why don't you send them any food, then?" Haymitch stared at the ceiling. "We don't have enough money for that anymore."

Katniss raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, not enough money? Effie is so loved by the citizens of the Capitol!" "That's were you're wrong." Haymitch said and picked up his glass of water from the coffee table. "Most Capitolians see Trinket as a traitor. That's it. They refuse to sponsor her now." Katniss pursed her lips together. "That's terrible." she whispered and looked back at the television screen. Effie and Eden were both sleeping peacefully. They did certainly not expect the slithering vines that slowly took a hold of the tributes' legs; ready to kill.


	15. Chapter 15

**First of all; I'm sorry about the late update. I didn't have any time at all. But here it is! Thanks for all the reviews :) Please read and review, enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for Eden Trinket.**

Effie opened her eyes as she felt something holding onto her leg. She looked down at her feet tiredly She saw a slithering vine that was trying to climb onto her leg and she ripped it off with a gasp. No success; the vine immediately grasped onto her ankle again. She had to think quick, she knew that. She took a knife from her belt and cut through the vine; its grip weakened and it fell off. "What in heavens was that..?" she whispered to herself and turned to Eden. His leg was fully covered in the vines that were trying to get a hold of his throat sooner or later. "Eden, wake up!" she cried and tried to cut through them, failing as the vines grabbed her knife and her wrists.

"Eden!" she cried, now louder. Eden woke up, pretty startled as he took in his surroundings. The vines covering his body, trying to pump the air out of him, and his sister, desperately trying to break free. When her knife was ripped out of her hand, she wanted to bite through the vines to cut them loose. "Don't do that!" Eden yelled. "I have to!" Effie sneered. Eden shook his head impatiently. "I'll try grabbing one of your knives, alright? Calm down." He slipped his arm through the vines, trying to reach Effie's belt. He grabbed one of the knives just yet, and cut through the vines that were holding onto Effie's arms and hair. It was moments like this she kind of missed her wigs. Effie stood up quickly and took the knife from Eden. But before she could get him free, the vines pulled onto his leg, dragging him into the forest.

Effie didn't have to think twice. She ran after him, following the track of broken twigs, moved sand and the occasional yell coming from her brother. As he came into sight she jumped forward, grabbing onto the vines that had now reached his throat. Eden frantically tried to pull them away, to keep breathing. Effie took her knife and cut through the vines as fast as she could, so that they couldn't grab onto her arms again, and pulled Eden to his feet. Hugging him tightly. "See, that's why we usually take shifts sleeping." Eden said. Effie responded with something between a grin and a sob, holding him even tighter. "We shouldn't celebrate too fast, though." Effie said as she looked over Eden's shoulder. The vines had healed quickly and now, there were even more of them, towering over the two tributes. Eden followed her sister's gaze. "I suggest we run."

Haymitch fingernails dug into the plush sofa as the two ran, the vines following them at high speed. He had had to be in the control room at 5, which was now half an hour ago. Plutarch hadn't called him to complain yet, so he stayed where he had mostly been in this past week; on the sofa, in his pajamas. He was extremely tired by now; thin lines where showing around his eyes, and the yellowish tint of his skin had gotten worse because of the lack of alcohol in his system. He didn't even seem to mind. Katniss and Peeta had woken up early, unable to sleep, and sat next to him on the sofa. Katniss may have shown her disgust for the former escort, but even Haymitch could see she did care. Effie could annoy you to no end, but if it hadn't been for her, Haymitch would've died from alcohol poisoning already.

Katniss looked at her fingers. They were intertwined with Peeta's. The deaths of Flavius and Octavia had been rough for her. Seeing how Effie had made it this far in the Games had surprised her. The lady who had always been so prim and proper in her high heels and tailored dresses. The gullible woman who had thought coal would turn to pearl if you put enough pressure on it… she was in there, and she made it to the final three. The fact that Effie had cried over the deaths of all her allies still showed her familiar vulnerability. Katniss looked over at the screen. Eden and Effie were running in the high green grass of the meadow, followed by these living, slithering vines.

The vines hadn't stopped in the tree line. They followed the tributes through to grass of the meadow, in which they were almost invisible, straight to the Cornucopia. Effie was quickly out of breath and stumbled over her own feet. "Eden, help!" she cried out. The vines grabbed her by her leg. They were stronger and faster than before. She felt her skin… burning? She let out a blood-curling scream as the apparently toxic vines burned the skin on her leg away. Eden turned around and stabbed the vines, so that they let go, getting burned himself in the process. He pulled Effie up and put her on his back, running the last mile to the Cornucopia. "Climb!" Eden said as they arrived. Effie nodded, stretched out her arms to reach for the edge of the Cornucopia and pulled herself up. "Hurry up," Effie said and reached for Eden's hand. Eden also pulled himself up, avoiding the vines.

Effie felt sleep slowly wash over her as she looked at the starry night sky. Which was strange, because the sun should have risen by now. The vines disappeared and Eden finally relaxed. "We're safe here." Eden said. Effie nodded slowly and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes, ignoring the burning pain in her leg.

She woke up to the deafening sound of Panem's anthem. She covered her ears and let out a groan of frustration, opening her eyes. "Ladies and gentlemen, the victor of the 76th and final Hunger Games: Euphemia Trinket!" Claudius Templesmith's voice called out. _What?_ Effie turned around to ask Eden what was going on, but he wasn't there. She bolted upright. "Eden?" No answer. She looked over the edge of the Cornucopia. Nothing. Where did he go? What happened?

A hovercraft appeared above her head. _This can't be true_, Effie thought. _He can't be dead. This is all a dream._ She knew she couldn't fool herself. This was not a dream. It was as real as it could be. She placed her hands on the sides of her head and screamed. She screamed and screamed until people came out of the hovercraft to pull her in. She struggled against them. Ready to kick, slap, scratch or bite everyone who was coming close to her. She felt a needle in her neck, relaxed immediately and let everyone around her disappear as everything went black.


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, writing this chapter almost made me cry because: Eden. I'm really content with this one, so I hope you like it too! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for Eden and Effie's mother. P****lease read and review, enjoy!**

******Note: '_Non hodie. Non cras. Non in perpetuum.' _is Latin for:_ 'Not today. Not tomorrow. Never.'_**

Effie's eyes fluttered open, looking straight into a bright lamp that hung above her head. She was blinded for a moment. Then she sat up slowly, ignoring her enormous headache, and quickly examined herself. All wounds had healed, and all scars were gone, even the ones she had gotten from her imprisonment: The word 'traitor' on her thigh, that only she knew about, was gone. Her hair was soft and cut shorter, but it still fell past her shoulders. An IV drip was attached to her arm. She shuddered and chose to ignore the needle. Then she took in her surroundings. She was sitting on a metal table in a sterile white room, separated from the outside world by a one-way mirror, and she was wearing a thin hospital gown. Once the headache got unbearable, she lay down again, staring at the ceiling.

Where was she? Why was she here? How long had she been here? Where was everyone? She blinked upcoming tears away as she realized what had happened. She was a Victor now. A winner -no, a survivor of the Games. Her brother Eden was gone without a trace. She didn't know what had happened to him, which made her head ache even more in frustration. She couldn't accept the fact that maybe, just maybe, he had died and she would see him soon enough. Cold and stiff, eyes closed, in a peaceful sleep.

She closed her eyes for a moment thinking about all the terrible things that could have happened to her brother, when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door closing and footsteps. Familiar footsteps. Once she smelled the faint stench of sweat and a tiny bit of alcohol, she opened her eyes and looked straight into the Seam gray eyes of Haymitch Abernathy. "Hello princess." he smiled. She didn't mind him calling her princess. Not this time. She lifted her head slowly as Haymitch leaned in closer and closed the small gap between them, her lips on his. Oh, how she had missed this.

"Effie!" she heard a male voice saying. Haymitch and Effie pulled apart and saw Peeta and Katniss standing in the door opening. Effie tried to hide her blush and sat up, genuinely smiling as they walked up to her and hugged her tightly. "My victors." she whispered hoarsely as she let Katniss go and smiled at them both. "You're _our_ victor now, Effie." Katniss said. Effie's smile faltered. "What happened to Eden?" she asked. Haymitch shortly looked at Peeta and Katniss, who were shaking their heads disapprovingly. Then he turned to Effie. "I'll tell you later." Effie didn't even bother protesting. "How long have I been here?" she asked instead. "Three days." he answered. "You're a sleepyhead, Eff. We came here every day asking if you had woken up already." Effie grinned at that.

Then Peeta showed her a small box that apparently had been placed under the table and gave it to her. "A dress and heels for the coronation. I believe you missed those." Effie smiled. "The heels? Oh darling you have _no _idea." Strangely, her feet hurt from walking in flat boots, so seeing the stunning, 9-inch heels was a small exhilaration for her. "We're lucky you woke up today, the coronation is in three hours. Otherwise we would have dragged you out of here." Katniss said as she and Peeta exited the room. She mimicked Effie's accent: "We have a schedule to keep!"

As soon as a prep team had done Effie's hair and makeup in the preparation room, Magnus helped her into a long, soft pink dress. The colour complemented her bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She took a deep breath and toyed with the silky fabric, waiting until she was needed on the balcony. A man clad in a black suit appeared, led her to the balcony and made her sit down in a chair that looked like it belonged to a wealthy king or queen. The other chairs were occupied by Haymitch, Katniss, Peeta and president Paylor. Paylor sat next to her and stood up as soon as she was told to. She gave a short speech. "Beloved people of Panem. Today we celebrate the closure of a chapter in our lives called 'the Hunger Games' by crowning the final victor. I'm glad to be given the honour of crowning her. She is a respected and celebrated young woman from the Capitol; Euphemia Trinket!"

President Paylor turned around to find a young Capitol boy holding up a soft cushion with on it, the victor's crown. She picked up the crown and carefully placed it onto Effie's head as Effie stood up. The crowd went crazy, chanting her name, cheering and whistling. Effie smiled and took her place in front of the microphone. It made her nervous. A microphone was not something she wanted to be reminded of, bringing her mind back to the reapings. She didn't get time to prepare anything, but she felt like this should come from her personally. It was time to not stick to the cards for once in her life. "People of Panem," she spoke. "You are citizens of a nation that is now finally free. The war has ended. The fights have been fought. And the Mockingjay," she turned to Katniss, "can finally spread her wings and fly."

A loud applause interrupted her speech for a moment so she tried to calm the crowd down. After the people were silenced, she continued. "I am honoured today to receive this crown. But not only that, I am glad that I survived these Games and that I can return to the people I love so dearly." She smiled at Haymitch quickly before continuing. "My heart is with the families whose beloved have passed away. I want to thank those, who have saved my life more than once. Lucius Crane, for example. And my beloved brother Eden Trinket. I respect these people, and I mourn their deaths. Also, I mourn the deaths of my dear friends and allies in the arena: Octavia, Flavius and Felix. And I know that in no way I can make up for all of your losses." Effie gulped once. "I hereby declare that the Hunger Games will never be held again. _Non hodie_. _Non cras. Non in perpetuum_. We are, and will always be a free nation. The nation of Panem."

Effie excused herself from the talking group of people who were drowning her in questions, and tried to find her mother. As she finally saw a glimpse of curly, grey hair and a blue dress she ran towards it. "Mom!" she squealed. The woman turned around, politely ending her conversation with president Paylor, and took Effie in her arms. "My little girl! I am so proud of you!" she said. Effie then let her tears take over and started sobbing into her mother's shoulder. "I missed you so much! And I don't know –I –I… Eden –and daddy…" Effie sobbed like a little girl. The woman softly stroked her daughter's hair. "I know, it's okay honey." Effie looked in her mother's eyes and nodded. Then she plucked the victor's crown off her head and placed it on her mother's head. "You deserve this more than I do." she said, smiling faintly, and wiped her tears away.

"Effie, are you alright?" she heard Haymitch say. She turned around and motioned for him to come over. "Mom," she said, "this is Haymitch." Haymitch politely kissed the woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Trinket." he said. Effie's mother let out a giggle. "You're such a charmer." she said. She turned to Effie. "So this is the man you lived with for the past year?" Effie nodded, trying to hide her now crimson face. "Oh darling, don't be shy." she giggled. "He seems like a good man."

Effie smiled. "I guess this is the right moment to tell you that we are in a relationship, sort of?" Haymitch nodded approvingly and took her hand in his. "You are?" Effie's mother gasped. "Oh dear, do I hear wedding bells?" she squealed. Effie shook her head, blushing even more. "Mother!" Haymitch couldn't hide his grin. Effie's mother giggled softly behind her hand. "I'm sorry darling." Then she straightened her face. "On a different matter: Do you want to see your brother?" she asked. Effie widened her eyes and turned to look at Haymitch, searching for an answer he couldn't give: whether or not to go. "Yes." she said after a few moments of silence.

Effie's mother led her into a narrow corridor inside the Training Center. She knew this place. She had been here countless times to mourn the deaths of her tributes. This is where they kept the corpses, one behind every door, before they were sent back to their families in the districts. Each door was marked with a District number and a small card with a name on it. Two doors for District 1, two doors for District 2, and so on. Once they reached the door that said 'Eden Trinket', Effie took a deep breath. She wanted to remember him as he was when she last saw him. Telling her that they were safe on top of the Cornucopia. Effie's mother opened the door to the room and let Effie in. The room was small but beautiful. Not painted in sad and drab colours, but in white. A sign of respect and honour in the Capitol. She slowly walked over to the coffin to see her brother. She had to suppress the strangled sob that threatened to come from her throat as she saw him. It was real. He was dead.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey hey hey! I loved writing this chapter for some reason. It was heartbreaking and -healing at the same time. I think there will be one more chapter after this one, unless you guys have any more ideas so that I can write more chapters. ****Thanks for all the reviews, people! I love you so much, I really do. Please read and review, enjoy! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except for Eden.**

Effie hesitatingly walked towards the beautifully ornamented coffin that contained her brother. She let her fingers glide over the wood: Mahogany, she realized. When her fingers reached Eden's head, she closed her eyes and forced a faint smile upon her face. "Hello.. little one." she said softly. He didn't respond. Of course not. Dead people couldn't talk. She sat down on her knees and started praying. If there was a God, she hoped he would hear her.

She talked about her brother. About his dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. About how he had always been so protective over her. He was barely two years older but he had always been a lot bigger than petite Effie, with her blonde pigtails and little blue dress, the girl he had one day nicknamed 'little one' as she couldn't reach the lowest shelf in their house with the cookie jar on it. About how they had always played with Effie's dolls together and how he didn't even mind that his friends teased him about it. About how he had always supported her when she had started going to Games School and how he was the reason she had graduated in the first place. About how she had always admired him. About how much she loved and missed him. About how much she wanted to know what had happened in that arena, that one night. About how much she wanted him back.

She didn't hear the footsteps behind her nor did she feel a hand being placed on her shoulder. "Effie?" a male voice asked. Effie opened her eyes slowly and turned her head. It was Haymitch. Katniss and Peeta stood in the door opening. Haymitch gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. "Your mother went back home. She got a bit emotional. Do you want me to tell you now? About your brother?" Effie nodded as Haymitch pulled her to her feet and helped her to sit on a chair. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Peeta asked Haymitch. "She is marked as emotionally unstable, after all." _Marked as emotionally unstable._ Effie shot Peeta an angry glare before realizing that he was just the messenger. He didn't do anything to her. It was not his fault.

"I'm fine." Effie said. _Emotionally unstable._ That was not the right word to describe how she felt right now. She was broken. Tormented. Shattered into a thousand pieces. Feeling like breaking down in front of everyone at any moment. No, emotionally unstable was far too weak of a statement to describe her state of mind. She admired Katniss. She did not cry, only when needed. She was strong and Effie kind of envied her for that. Which was unfair, seeing as Katniss went through much more. She wanted to stay strong for her family, what was left of it anyway, and for Peeta.

"It was really… heroic." Haymitch began. "You had been asleep for almost an hour on top of the Cornucopia when Tax appeared. He was followed by some kind of…" He couldn't finish his sentence because he didn't know how to describe what he had seen. "Some kind of lizard-mutt." Katniss finished. "The Capitol had used them before. The kind that had killed Finnick." she added, to explain to Haymitch what they had looked like, the hard way. "Yes." Haymitch said. "Anyway, the sounds woke your brother so he was, like, looking over the edge of the Cornucopia to see what was there." Effie nodded, a lump forming in her throat. "Tax spotted the two of you and tried to kill you both by climbing on top of the Cornucopia as well." Then Peeta continued. "Eden pushed him off and then jumped off the Cornucopia. They fought for a while, until the sun rose. Finally Tax had managed to stab Eden in the stomach and Eden broke Tax' neck, killing him immediately. Eden died somewhat later. A hovercraft removed them both before they announced your victory."

Effie's vision was blurred with tears, but she blinked rapidly to keep them from spilling. _Not emotionally unstable. I'm NOT unstable._ "Thank you, for telling me." Effie said. She stood up and walked over to Eden. She hesitated if she should take a look at the wound in his stomach, to prove his actions, but she didn't do it. She pressed the three middle fingers of her left hand to her lips and then placed them on Eden's lips. They were cold. As if he had just returned from an evening stroll through the cold of winter. His skin was white as snow. Just like Effie's skin, when she had put on her daily dose of makeup. That was silly. The old Effie would have put on all those inches of fakery to hide her small imperfections. The new Effie wouldn't dare to put any of it on, proud of who she was. With scars or without. They told her story. And Eden's scars, told his. "Goodbye." she whispered, and turned around for the final time.

Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and Effie were sitting in the living room cart of the train that headed back to District 12. Effie had stayed in her room the rest of the day, trying to sleep. She had come out around 6 in the afternoon in a long dressing gown. Her hair was a mess and she had lines of fatigue under her eyes. She had sat down next to Haymitch at dinner. "That's it then." Katniss said. "No more Hunger Games. The Training Center will be demolished soon and transport between Districts is finally allowed." She talked to herself some more as the conversation slowly started taking place in her own head, until she was silent. "Are you sure you want to go back to 12, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked Effie and took a sip of wine. He had cut back on alcohol, that was for sure, but he couldn't do a day without at least two glasses. Effie looked at him. "Of course I am. Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here, you horrible man." Haymitch laughed. "I knew you'd miss the mess of the Abernathy household." Effie grinned softly and took a bite of the perfectly prepared dish in front of her. "I guess I do."

Haymitch raised an eyebrow. "I was being sarcastic." "I know." Effie shrugged. "But I do miss it. I can't stay in the Capitol one more day, truly." She looked Haymitch in the eye and smirked playfully. "And I couldn't miss you either." Haymitch smirked and kissed her on the cheek before returning to his meal. "You make me a softie, you know that?" Katniss rolled her eyes. "I know that you guys are all lovey-dovey right now but I don't have to know _everything_, and surely you don't have to act like that in front of me, alright?" She stood up and left the room. "I'm sorry." Peeta apologized. "She hasn't been in a great mood lately." He excused himself from the table and followed Katniss.

"What was that all about?" Effie asked. Haymitch shrugged. "Katniss has lost a lot lately, we have to be careful around her. She was like this all the time when you were in the arena, you know." Effie nodded. He didn't need to say any more. She understood. "I know. And sometimes she just wants to forget those things. As do I." Haymitch then decided to change the subject. "What do you say we head back to your room and relive some of our favourite moments together. Wouldn't want to forget those, now do we?" he asked in a husky voice. Effie let out a giggle. "I'd say I would love that, Mr. Abernathy." She took his outstretched hand to stand up before Haymitch started carrying her in his arms towards her room. "I hope you don't mind my manners in the bedroom, Trinket." He added with a smirk. She grinned. This was something she didn't mind remembering.


	18. Chapter 18

**Finally! After two days of errors, I was finally able to upload the _last _chapter of this story! It was pretty hard finding a good ending, but I hope you like it. Please read and review! All characters belong to Suzanne Collins. Thank you all for reading, I loved all of your reviews! Enjoy!**

It was warm, sunny weather in District 12. A soft breeze cooled down Effie's makeup-less, red cheeks as she stood on the porch of her house in the Victor's Village. Well, Haymitch's house. She leaned againt the door frame, watching as Katniss and Peeta sat in the grass cross-legged. Peeta was making Katniss a crown out of flowers. It felt good to see how much Peeta had progressed since he had been hijacked. She had to admit, she felt better too. Since they had come back from the Capitol, she had decided to try other things than partying and planning like crazy; like baking, painting, fashion designing and even hunting with Katniss.

She wasn't a good cook, she knew that. But, her being a former fashion icon in the Capitol, designing clothes was a lot of fun. There was no one that really wanted to wear them because the style of the clothing was, as you could guess, all Capitol. No no, they had certainly not taken her taste in fashion away. Painting was great fun, so was singing. Hunting didn't go that well; the first time she had ever worn jeans instead of dresses or skirts was in the arena. They were highly uncomfortable, she thought. Also, hunting was not something Effie had done all her life, so it reminded her too much of the Games. And she loved animals to death, so it wasn't a huge success. She had given up on it altogether.

The new activities were great, but she had to admit she kind of missed her old lifestyle. The dresses, the food, the music, the people… But that was a luxury she couldn't afford, nor did she want to go back to the Capitol. She wrote her mother every once in a while, but that was everything.

But she had everything she needed. Or should I say, every_one_ she needed. She had Haymitch, and of course Katniss and Peeta. She still had nightmares, so did Haymitch. But as long as they had each other, and maybe a little bit of booze, they weren't so hard to cope with.

"So, your Victory Speech is in a few days." Haymitch whispered in her ear as he walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. Effie sighed. "I don't know what to say to these people." "What's the big problem, sweetheart? Your speech on the balcony was amazing." Effie turned around to face Haymitch. "I can't use the same thing over and over again, Abernathy." Haymitch shrugged and looked over at Katniss and Peeta. "You just, you know, put on a pretty dress and you'll be fine." Effie giggled. "Sure, that's how speeches form." She gave Haymitch a peck on the cheek and walked inside the house. "I think we have to take a look at the schedule I made." she called. Haymitch smirked. "Sure thing, Trinket. Old habits die hard."

Effie sat down on their brand new leather couch and picked up her schedule from the coffee table. Haymitch sat down next to her, leaving the front door open to allow a cool breeze inside the hot house. "Alright sweetheart, shoot." Effie clicked her pen. "Alright, so first we'll have a short meeting with president Paylor. Then I'll be giving a speech that will have to be around ten minutes long, and dear heavens, I haven't even started writing it yet! After that, we'll close the day with a Victory Party in Paylor's mansion. And then, I'd like to go that cute little place with you where they.." Haymitch didn't hear the rest of Effie's overly excited chatter. He looked at her bright blue eyes and nodded every few seconds. He was right, old habits do indeed die hard.

"…They fought with honour and dignity until the end. Without them, I wouldn't be standing here today. Panem today. Panem tomorrow. Panem forever. Thank you." The crowd applauded Effie as she walked down the stairs, off the stage. She wore her red fan dress and a gold wig. Her makeup was light according to Capitol standards. It felt kind of uncomfortable, but this was the way the crowd loved seeing her.

"Where's Haymitch?" she asked Peeta. By now, they were both standing in the ball room of Paylor's mansion. Everyone was busy dancing, chatting and laughing. Katniss had gone off to find some food. Peeta shrugged at first, but when he looked around for a bit, he nudged Effie with his shoulder and pointed at a large person with wobbly knees in the back of the room. It seemed like, once again, Haymitch was very, very drunk. He came up to her, stumbling over his own feet a couple of times, and then hugged her, causing her wig to shift slightly off-center. Oh, memories. "Haymitch Abernathy!" she whispered angrily. "You know I would push you away if I didn't love you that much. But this..." Peeta pulled Haymitch away from her. "Why are you so drunk, Haymitch?" he asked. Haymitch shrugged and let out a big burp in Peeta's face. "I thought it was time to put the fun in this party." he slurred.

He stretched out his hand to Effie. "Care for a dance, m'lady?" he asked. Effie's lips, which were set in a hard line at first, curled up in a smile. "I'd love to." She put her hand in his and let him lead her to the middle of the dance floor. He stumbled a few times, but managed to stay upright somehow. He then put his other hand on Effie's waist and they started dancing. It was a waltz, a dance Effie had taught him many times, but he seemed to forget the moves every time because he was drunk during every lesson Effie gave him. But now, he was so gentle and he moved so swiftly and elegantly that Effie doubted he had drunk anything at all.

"You're not drunk, are you?" Effie grinned. Haymitch shook his head. Effie playfully smacked him in the chest. "Then why did you just pull that stunt? You embarrassed me." Haymitch laughed. "Like I said, I thought it was time to put the fun in this party. There's still nothing I enjoy more than teasing you." The music changed. A slow song could be heard. "You know this song, don't you?" Haymitch asked. Effie nodded. It had been her favourite song ever since she was little. It was a very old song by a band called 'Coldplay'. The name of the song was 'Magic'. She had loved the band when she was a teen, but it was a sad thing that they didn't exist anymore. She knew the song was about heartbreak. But she ignored the lyrics. Her heart told her the melody made it a song of love._ I call it magic, when I'm with you.  
_

She put her hands around Haymitch's neck and they danced for a while. Maybe this song wasn't slow enough to be a song for slow dancing, but that didn't bother them. All they cared about at this moment, was each other. Haymitch then pulled her in for a kiss. Effie gasped shortly, and her eyes fluttered closed. She didn't care about people watching them. She didn't care that they knew. Everybody could know that she loved Haymitch Abernathy.

He tasted like liquor. He tasted like strawberries and chocolate. He tasted like love. She felt the butterflies in her stomach. She stepped closer to him, not noticing the slippery contents of a wine glass on the floor, and slipped. They fell to the floor immediately and Effie let out a surprised squeak, falling onto Haymitch's chest. She heard people around them, laughing. Katniss and Peeta couldn't hide their grins much longer, either. "Oops." she giggled. Haymitch gave her a smirk. She gave him a quick kiss and looked up to the big clock on the wall. It was late. They stood up quickly and Effie intertwined her fingers with his, not even ashamed one bit. "Let's go outside." she whispered.

Haymitch sat on a bench in the garden of the mansion, Effie's head in his lap. "That looks like a tree." she said and pointed at the stars. "It sure does, sweetheart." Haymitch said. He had no idea which stars she meant, there were thousands of them in the sky, but he played along. He played with the golden strands of her wig. Effie always thought that she knew happiness, but the truth was, she didn't. Capitol happiness was nothing compared to District happiness. True happiness. She looked at the stars, trying to figure out the shapes they made. She still thought about Eden every day. "Look at that. That looks like a bird, don't you think so, little one?" He would say that if he were here right now. She knew he was. And it felt comforting. She narrowed her eyebrows. She had said something to Haymitch, the night before the Games started. She also remembered not getting a response, so she decided to ask the same question again. "Don't ever leave me, alright?" He caressed her cheek and looked into her eyes. He answered softly.

"Never."

_The End_


End file.
